Giggs: A fan recommended Mbappe to him during a walk in France, but Manchester United did not sign him after scouting him

Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs revealed that the club sent scouts to watch Mbappe when he was playing for Monaco, but they ultimately did not sign him.

Giggs is Manchester United's all-time appearance record holder and achieved remarkable success during his playing career. Between 2014 and 2016, he first served as interim manager and later became Louis van Gaal's assistant coach.

It was while working under the Dutch coach that the former Wales international noticed Mbappe by chance.

"So I was in the south of France at the time, I was managing Manchester United, it should have been 2015. I went for a walk in a local village and then walked back to the hotel. I was walking along the beach toward the hotel and I could feel someone following me," he said on a podcast hosted by Rio Ferdinand.

"When I got to the hotel, I suddenly felt someone coming toward me again. Anyway, that person was called Lionel, he was French. He came up to me and said: 'Hi, my name is Lionel. I just wanted to say hello. I am a lifelong Manchester United fan and a big admirer of yours. But I often watch French youth matches, and you have to look at this player. His name is Kylian Mbappe, he is at Monaco, and I think he would be a great fit for Manchester United.'"

"A few weeks later, he sent me all the details. Albert and I looked into it together at the time; he was also a Manchester United assistant coach then and later went to Arsenal. We used to go watch matches in the afternoons or visit the training ground to watch players. Anyway, I told him about it. He said: 'Come on, let's bring him in.' Later we watched several Monaco youth team matches and saw him in person. We were both thinking: 'Wow, what level is this?' You can tell when some players are special, but he was clearly outstanding."

"So we told the scouting department about the situation. They went to watch him. There were also people from France who went to see him; he was actually playing for Paris Saint-Germain at that time. Monaco were facing Paris Saint-Germain, so they went to Paris to watch him. A few weeks later, I asked that person what the result was, and he said: 'Yes, they were not that certain about him, so we just put it aside for the time being, that's it.'"

Mbappe later joined Paris Saint-Germain on loan in 2017 and was permanently signed by the club the following year.