da heads bet： The Frenchman may be the best player in the world, but his individualism would be completely at odds with the team mentality at Anfield

da pixbet： So, Kylian Mbappe is finally going to move to Real Madrid? Or maybe not? What does it matter to Liverpool? They never really wanted him anyway! Only that's not true, of course. Just like absolutely every other coach in the world, Jurgen Klopp has always been interested in Mbappe. He first tried to sign him while the French forward was still at Monaco.

Mbappe obviously ended up returning to his hometown to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. That same summer, Liverpool brought in Mohamed Salah from Roma – which has proven one of the best buys in the history of the club.

The Egyptian has just passed 200 goals for the Reds and is showing no signs of slowing down. He is, however, 31 and the subject of great interest from Saudi Arabia. Selling Salah for an exorbitant sum of money at the end of the season would make an awful lot of sense if a worthy successor could be found, and Mbappe is understandably the dream replacement in the eyes of many supporters. After all, who else could possibly prove as prolific on Liverpool's right wing?

But while the disputed claim that Mbappe had agreed to move to Madrid when his PSG contract expires this summer was portrayed as a blow for Liverpool, it would be more like a blessing in disguise.

(C)GettyImagesMbappe and his baggage

Mbappe is a legitimate phenomenon, a generational talent that has already illuminated two World Cups by the age of 25. Even in a team as dysfunctional as Paris Saint-Germain, he is so often unstoppable, a player blessed with such speed that he burns full-backs to a crisp. But Liverpool don't need him. Or, to put it more accurately, they don't need all of the baggage that Mbappe brings with him.

He is the unashamed star of a soap opera that should have been cancelled years ago, the ringleader of a circus in which he forces PSG and Madrid to jump through hoops for him. It's all very unedifying and the complete antithesis to the core values that Klopp has restored at Liverpool.

Say what you like about the German because of his propensity for ranting and whining, but his teams are admirably industrious and impressively resilient. The only way into Klopp's starting line-up is through hard work. The team must always come first. He's always favoured grafters over galacticos.

Have egos collided at Anfield in the past? Absolutely. Roberto Firmino's recently released book confirmed what we already suspected, that Salah and Sadio Mane never really saw eye to eye during their time together on Merseyside. Yet it never became an issue off the field, and certainly not on it.

AdvertisementTimesCristiano Ronaldo's heir

Would that have been possible if Mbappe were one of those involved? No chance. He has never hidden his frustration with team-mates – or indeed coaches. The Parisian is as petulant as they come, the clear heir to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappe's wholly unsurprising childhood hero.

It's only right that he moves to Madrid, an arena in which self-absorbed superstars are not just tolerated but indulged – and often successfully, it has to be said.

The kings of Europe have a self-perpetuating sense of entitlement. Real Madrid and their players always believe themselves to be the best in the world – and so often prove themselves to be for that very reason. Belief breeds belief, while success sustains success, and Mbappe is as confident (or arrogant, depending on your view) as they come, meaning he's destined to thrive at Santiago Bernabeu. Just like Ronaldo, he really is too good to fail.

GettyKlopp could make Mbappe even better

He'd run riot in the Premier League too, of course. The idea that Mbappe might struggle in a stronger division than Ligue 1 is as farcical as the notion that Lionel Messi would have wilted on a wet Wednesday night at Stoke. Mbappe has been directly involved in nine goals in 14 appearances against English opposition in the Champions League.

It's also exciting what to think Mbappe might become if he bought into Klopp's footballing philosophy. Unlike Pep Guardiola, the former Borussia Dortmund boss has never inherited all-time greats or signed superstars – he has made them, taking players like Salah, Mane, Firmino, Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum, Mario Gotze, Henrikh Mkitharyan, Marco Reus and Virgil van Dijk to a whole other level.

What might Klopp achieve with Mbappe? And vice versa…

GettyBut not a team player

Of course, there's never really been any hope of Mbappe ending up at Liverpool. The numbers don't add up; the figures are farcical. The Reds would have to absolutely obliterate their salary structure, and possibly sell some of their most valuable assets, to even be able to afford Mbappe on a free transfer.

Remember, the latest word out of Madrid is that Real are willing to pay Mbappe a €26 million (£23m/$29m) salary and a €130m (£113m/$143m) signing bonus. He's just not worth that kind of money, at least not to Liverpool.

Klopp is already way ahead of schedule in his construction of another great team at Anfield. The midfield overhaul has gone better than anyone could have anticipated, the defence is holding up surprisingly well and has been bolstered by the emergence of Jarell Quansah, while Liverpool do not lack options up front, as underlined by a starting line-up shorn of Salah triumphing at Arsenal on Sunday evening.

Furthermore, while Mbappe might look like the ideal player to fill the void that the Egyptian will eventually leave behind, the Parisian would actually increase the risk of collapse by eroding the very foundations on which the whole project is based.

Because Mbappe is not a team player; he is an individualist, the kind of character that criticises the manager's tactics or threatens to leave every time the going gets tough. Such antics are to be expected at Madrid, but would quickly become an unwanted distraction at Anfield.