Legend: Giggs Recommended Manchester United Sign Mbappe Before He Became Famous, Red Devils Thought He Was Not Good Enough

Beijing time September 9 news: Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs revealed that the Red Devils once rejected the chance to sign Kylian Mbappe.

In 2015, when Giggs was still a member of Manchester United's coaching staff, a stranger recommended Mbappe, who was playing for Monaco at the time, to the club. At the time, Giggs was taking part in an interview program hosted by Rio Ferdinand, and he later went to watch Mbappe play in person before recommending that Manchester United sign him.

Manchester United's scouting team did assess Mbappe, but ultimately decided that he was not good enough and was not suitable for the club. Later, Mbappe developed into a global football star, helping France win the 2018 World Cup and scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final. In 2018, Mbappe joined Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £162 million, becoming the second-most expensive signing in football history. At this summer's World Cup, Mbappe won the Golden Boot and became the leading scorer in World Cup history.

Recently, Giggs discussed how Mbappe slipped away from Manchester United's grasp — something that may have been one of the biggest mistakes made by the English giants.

Giggs said: "At the time I was in the south of France. I was walking in a nearby village, heading back to the hotel. I felt like someone was following me, you know, that kind of feeling. I got to the hotel and suddenly felt someone walking towards me."

"This person was called Lionel. He came over and said to me: 'Hi, I'm Lionel. I just wanted to say hello. I am a die-hard Manchester United fan and also a big fan of yours. But I often watch youth football in France, and you must take a look at this player. His name is Kylian Mbappe. He plays for Monaco, and I believe he has the ability to play for Manchester United.'"

"A few weeks later, he sent me all the details by email. So I told Albert about it — he was also an assistant coach at Manchester United at the time. We went to watch several Monaco youth team matches and saw him (Mbappe). At that moment we thought, 'Wow, what is this?' You see some players who are special, but he clearly looked extremely talented."

"We told the Manchester United scouting team. They went to watch him play. Someone from France went to watch his match when they were playing against Paris Saint-Germain. So they went to Paris to watch him play. Anyway, I think a few weeks later I asked that guy, 'How did it go?' He said, 'Well, they were not sure about him, so we stopped contacting him.' That was it."