Manchester [UK], September 10 (ANI): Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Kylian Mbappe during his teenage years at Monaco but decided against pursuing the future France superstar, former club winger Ryan Giggs has revealed.

Giggs, United's record appearance holder, said the club became aware of Mbappe during his time as a youth player at Monaco in 2015, when the former Wales international was serving as an assistant to manager Louis van Gaal, according to ESPN.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Giggs recalled being approached in southern France by a man who urged him to watch the young Mbappe.

'So, I'm in the south of France. I was coaching United, so it'd be 2015. I've been for a walk in the local village and I'm walking back to the hotel. I'm walking on the beach back to the hotel. And you can feel, I can feel someone, you know, when you feel someone like following you,' he said, according to ESPN.

Giggs added, 'And I'm like, I get to the hotel and then all of a sudden I can feel someone coming up to me. Anyway, this guy is called Lionel, French guy. So he comes up to me and says 'hi, I'm Lionel. I just wanted to just say hello. I'm a big United fan and big fan of yours. But I watch a lot of youth football in France, and you have to look at this player. He's called Kylian Mbappe. He's at Monaco, and I think he's a player for Man United.''

Giggs said he subsequently passed the information to then United assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg, with the pair going to watch several Monaco youth matches.

'A few weeks later, he emailed me all the details. So me and Albert [Stuivenberg] again, who's the coach with Arsenal, he was another assistant at United at the time. We used to in the afternoons just go and watch games or go and watch players at the training ground. So anyway, I've told him about this thing. He says 'come on, let's get him up.' And we got a few youth games with Monaco and we seen him and just like, 'wow, what is this?' You know, you can see players and they can be special, but he did look exceptional, obviously,' said Giggs.

United's scouting team subsequently watched Mbappe during a Monaco match against Paris Saint-Germain, but the club ultimately decided not to pursue the forward.

He further added, 'So anyway, we told the scouting team. They went to watch him. Someone in France went to watch him and he was actually playing PSG. Monaco were playing PSG. So they went to Paris to watch him. Anyway, I think a few weeks later, I said to this guy 'how did it go?' and he went 'yeah, they weren't too sure about him, so we just left it, and that was it.''

Mbappe went on to join Paris Saint-Germain on loan from Monaco in 2017 before making the move permanent the following year. He later established himself as one of the world's leading forwards with PSG, Real Madrid and France.

The Frenchman has won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice, in 2022 and 2026, becoming the first player to claim the award on two occasions. He also won the Golden Boy award in 2017 and the Kopa Trophy in 2018.

Mbappe was part of France's 2018 World Cup-winning side and also won the UEFA Nations League in 2021. He finished as the World Cup runner-up in 2022 before helping France to further success on the international stage.

His prolific scoring record has also seen him collect multiple Ligue 1 Player of the Year honours and major domestic scoring awards.

At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappe further enhanced his legacy by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 career goals. (ANI)