How Chelsea Turned Down Mbappe At 13

Kylian Mbappe could easily have joined Chelsea for free if the club had been more adventurous but he was turned down at the age of 13.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar was on trial at the Blues in 2012 while playing for amateur club AS Bondy.

Mbappe, 22, initially impressed but Chelsea wanted him to come back for another trial – an invitation that did not sit well with his mother.

And they didn’t rate his defensive work rate and wanted him to trackback.

Serge Daniel Boga was the Chelsea scout who spotted the wonder kid on the outskirts of Paris and recalled Mbappe’s mother’s response to the second invitation.

Speaking to Goal, he said: “‘Listen, my boy won’t be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now, or in five year’s time they will be coming back to buy him for €50m (£45m).”

Not even his mother could predict his value would have reached a whopping £150m when he joined PSG from Monaco in 2017.

According to Boga, Chelsea’s main concerns were his defensive abilities.

He added: “He was very skilful, but in England they want to see the player track back and be a hard worker.

“At the time, he wasn’t a hard worker, defensively he wasn’t there yet.

“When he got the ball, he was unbelievable, but without the ball, he didn’t work a lot.

“Chelsea wanted to see him again to see how he could improve on this- I think that’s why they asked him back.

“He did skilful things and dribbled well, so maybe the things they wanted to see in the second trial was improved work on the defensive side.”

The former scout now works as a player agent but admits he knew Mbappe was going to be a star.

He added: “I think until now, Mbappe is the best player I have ever scouted.”

Mbappe further announced himself on the world stage on Tuesday night when he scored a Champions League hat-trick in PSG’s 4-1 win over Barcelona at the Nou Camp.