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Ryan Giggs has disclosed what prevented Manchester United from moving forward in their pursuit of Kylian Mbappe in 2015.

The 45-year-old said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: The Debrief that he had been advised to watch Kylian Mbappe during his youth-team days. Although Giggs was impressed by what he saw, Manchester United’s scouting department were reportedly not convinced by the French forward.

The former Wales international told Rio Ferdinand that he was in the south of France in 2015 when a man called ‘Lionel’ came up to him to speak about Mbappe.

Giggs said the man had been tracking his movements, but he still took on board the suggestion that Manchester United should monitor the French youngster.

Giggs added that ‘Lionel’ asked him for his email address so that he could send further details about Mbappe, who was then part of Monaco’s youth setup.

He said that although he was hesitant at first, ‘Lionel’ did keep his word and sent him an email containing information on Mbappe.

“We got to go to a few youth games [where he played] with Monaco. We saw him and went ‘Wow’ - he looked exceptional, obviously,” revealed the former Manchester United player.

Giggs, who was working as a coach at Manchester United in 2015, then told the club’s scouting team to go and watch Mbappe play.

“We told the scouting team, [so] someone went to watch him in Paris,” explained the Welshman. “It was actually Monaco versus PSG.

“Later, the guy [who went] told me, ‘Yeah, they weren’t too sure about him.’” Giggs said. The 45-year-old then went on to reveal more recommendations he had received from ‘Lionel’ in the years that followed.

“The same guy, in 2018, I went through my phone and he’s telling me about a player, U-14s but he’s playing with the Under-17s: Rayan Cherki,” the Welshman said, leaving Ferdinand stunned.

“Next message: ‘There’s a player at Saint-Etienne, [William] Saliba, I think he’d be a good player at Manchester United,” continued Giggs.

The 45-year-old made it clear that not every suggestion from ‘Lionel’ involved “superstars”, adding that he had also recommended other players who were not of the same calibre as Mbappe, Cherki and Saliba.