There are transfer stories, and then there are transfer stories. The kind that involve private jets, five-room aircraft, and a flight in circles somewhere over the south of France. Liverpool's pursuit of Kylian Mbappe, it turns out, was every bit as extraordinary as the rumours suggested.

Jurgen Klopp, speaking during MagentaTV's coverage of France's World Cup quarter-final victory against Morocco, finally confirmed what had long been whispered around the football world. Liverpool went for Mbappe. Properly went for him. And the lengths they went to in that pursuit were, frankly, something else entirely.

"The most expensive non-transfer we invested in," Klopp told viewers, with that familiar mix of warmth and resignation that Liverpool supporters came to know so well during his time at Anfield. "We flew from Blackpool to Nice. In Nice, the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something. We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food. We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris."

And there it is. The full picture of one of English football's most elaborate courtships, laid out with characteristic Klopp honesty. A flight from Blackpool. A private jet of considerable proportions. The entire Mbappe family. Good food. Circles in the sky. And still, somehow, not enough.

Mbappe was of course a Monaco player at the time, already catching the eye of Europe's biggest clubs. The pursuit, whenever it took place, ultimately came to nothing as the forward signed for Paris Saint-Germain. He now represents Real Madrid, where he has been nothing short of sensational, scoring 86 goals in 103 appearances for the Spanish giants. He is currently leading the World Cup Golden Boot standings with eight goals, which rather underlines just how significant a capture he would have been.

Whether the fee involved, the family's ambitions, or simply the pull of Paris proved decisive, we may never know in full. What we do know is that Liverpool were serious enough to organise a private jet meeting and go genuinely all out. That is not a casual enquiry. That is a club that wanted a player badly.

For Liverpool supporters, it is one of those bittersweet what-ifs that football occasionally serves up. You can acknowledge the scale of the miss without it being anyone's fault. Sometimes the other club simply wins. Sometimes Paris beats Liverpool. Life goes on.

And while Klopp's revelation will dominate the headlines, there was a second transfer tale doing the rounds today that is well worth your attention.

Moses Simon, the Nigerian winger now plying his trade in Ligue 1 with Paris FC after leaving Nantes, has spoken candidly about how close he came to signing for Liverpool between 2016 and 2018. The 30-year-old revealed that his head was so consumed by the prospect of a move that it actually affected his performances on the pitch.

"From 2016 to 2018, I dropped in form because I wanted to make a transfer," Simon told Urban Dwell Sport. "Liverpool wanted to sign me, I think Hull City, Fulham, Brighton, Tottenham, and Lyon also. We played against them in the Europa League in 2017. But, you know, when you read all this in the newspapers, some are true while some are rumours. So the first year, I didn't make it. I didn't get a transfer. The second year, I was supposed to go to Liverpool. It didn't work."

The honesty in what follows is striking. Simon describes the mental toll that a failed transfer can take on a young player, the confusion over whether it is the agent, the club, or simply circumstance that is blocking the move.

"In my head, I was like, 'Is it the agent or the club? I don't want to play.' So I was putting it in my head: 'Whether I play or I don't play, I don't care.'" It is a remarkably open admission, and a reminder that behind every transfer saga there is a human being trying to make sense of an often chaotic industry.

Simon has gone on to build a solid career spanning Belgium, France and international football with Nigeria, so the story has a decent ending for him personally. But the Liverpool move never materialised, and his candour about the psychological impact of that period says a great deal about the unseen pressures footballers carry.

All of this, of course, is backdrop to a summer at Anfield that is very much still in motion. The majority of the squad are due back at the training ground next week for pre-season preparations, with Victor Munoz from Osasuna the only arrival of note so far. There is an expectation, and indeed a need, for further investment as the club adjust to life under a new manager and a reshaped leadership structure following Michael Edwards' departure from his role as CEO of Fenway Sports Group.

Two transfers that never happened. One that involved a private jet and a World Cup Golden Boot leader. Another that left a young winger questioning his own desire to play. Both are part of the story of this club, and the summer that is shaping Liverpool's next chapter is only just beginning.