Manchester United scouted Kylian Mbappe at Monaco but decided against…

Manchester [UK], September 10 (ANI): Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Kylian Mbappe during his teenage years at Monaco but decided against pursuing the future France superstar, former club winger Ryan Giggs has revealed.

Giggs, United’s record appearance holder, said the club became aware of Mbappe during his time as a youth player at Monaco in 2015, when the former Wales international was serving as an assistant to manager Louis van Gaal, according to ESPN.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Giggs recalled being approached in southern France by a man who urged him to watch the young Mbappe. rocore.sbs

“So, I’m in the south of France. I was coaching United, so it’d be 2015. I’ve been for a walk in the local village and I’m walking back to the hotel. I’m walking on the beach back to the hotel. And you can feel, I can feel someone, you know, when you feel someone like following you," he said, according to ESPN.

Giggs added, “And I’m like, I get to the hotel and then all of a sudden I can feel someone coming up to me. Anyway, this guy is called Lionel, French guy. So he comes up to me and says ‘hi, I’m Lionel. I just wanted to just say hello. I’m a big United fan and big fan of yours. But I watch a lot of youth football in France, and you have to look at this player. He’s called Kylian Mbappé. He’s at Monaco, and I think he’s a player for Man United.'"

Giggs said he subsequently passed the information to then United assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg, with the pair going to watch several Monaco youth matches.

“A few weeks later, he emailed me all the details. So me and Albert [Stuivenberg] again, who’s the coach with Arsenal, he was another assistant at United at the time. We used to in the afternoons just go and watch games or go and watch players at the training ground. So anyway, I’ve told him about this thing. He says ‘come on, let’s get him up.’ And we got a few youth games with Monaco and we seen him and just like, ‘wow, what is this?’ You know, you can see players and they can be special, but he did look exceptional, obviously," said Giggs.

United’s scouting team subsequently watched Mbappe during a Monaco match against Paris Saint-Germain, but the club ultimately decided not to pursue the forward.

He further added, “So anyway, we told the scouting team. They went to watch him. Someone in France went to watch him and he was actually playing PSG. Monaco were playing PSG. So they went to Paris to watch him. Anyway, I think a few weeks later, I said to this guy ‘how did it go?’ and he went ‘yeah, they weren’t too sure about him, so we just left it, and that was it.'"

Mbappe went on to join Paris Saint-Germain on loan from Monaco in 2017 before making the move permanent the following year. He later established himself as one of the world’s leading forwards with PSG, Real Madrid and France.

The Frenchman has won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice, in 2022 and 2026, becoming the first player to claim the award on two occasions. He also won the Golden Boy award in 2017 and the Kopa Trophy in 2018.

Mbappe was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side and also won the UEFA Nations League in 2021. He finished as the World Cup runner-up in 2022 before helping France to further success on the international stage.

His prolific scoring record has also seen him collect multiple Ligue 1 Player of the Year honours and major domestic scoring awards.

At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappe further enhanced his legacy by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 career goals. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Josh Tongue produced a brilliant delivery to dismiss Pakistan captain Babar Azam on the opening day of the third Test against England at Edgbaston. The England pacer knocked back Babar’s off stump, sending him back for just 7 runs.

England Cricket shared the dismissal on social media with the message: “Josh Tongue on target”.

Josh Tongue on target

Follow every ball live https://t.co/VUdUehsgT2 pic.twitter.com/uzGWAoT65y

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 9, 2026

Babar’s early dismissal added to Pakistan’s batting problems as the visitors were bowled out for 133 before England finished the day on 156 for 4, taking a 23-run lead.

Pakistan’s top order collapses at Edgbaston

England won the toss and chose to bowl first under cloudy conditions. The decision quickly paid off as Ollie Robinson dismissed Saim Ayub for a duck in the third over.

Jofra Archer then removed Azan Awais for 9 before Robinson struck again to get rid of Abdullah Shafique. Archer added another wicket by dismissing Shan Masood, leaving Pakistan struggling at 26 for 4.

Babar came to the crease with his team in trouble but could not stay for long. Tongue beat him with a sharp delivery that hit the top of off stump, leaving Pakistan 48 for 5.

Pakistan’s top five managed only 25 runs between them, highlighting their difficult start.

Josh Tongue leads England’s bowling attack

Saud Shakeel provided some resistance with a 43-run knock, but Pakistan could not build a meaningful partnership around him.

Tongue continued to trouble the Pakistan batters and dismissed debutants Ghazi Ghori and Mohammad Imran before eventually removing Shakeel.

Mohammad Abbas added 21 runs towards the end of the innings, but Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in 33.5 overs.

Tongue finished with 4 for 42, while Robinson and Archer took 3 for 15 and 3 for 25 respectively.

England lose three early wickets

England also had a shaky start with the bat. Ben Duckett was dismissed early by Mohammad Ali, while Jordan Cox fell lbw to Mohammad Abbas.

Joe Root then became the third wicket to fall when debutant Razaullah trapped him lbw. England were reduced to 39 for 3 and Pakistan had a chance to put pressure back on the hosts.

However, Emilio Gay and Harry Brook changed the momentum with a strong partnership.

Gay and Brook put England ahead on Day 1

Gay and Brook added 104 runs for the fourth wicket, helping England move ahead of Pakistan’s first-innings total.

Gay scored a patient 60 before Razaullah dismissed him late in the day. Brook remained unbeaten on 52, with Dan Lawrence alongside him as England reached 156 for 4 at stumps.

The result left England 23 runs ahead at the end of Day 1 and in a strong position heading into the second day.

Day 1 Brief Scores

Pakistan 133 (Saud Shakeel 43, Mohammad Abbas 21; Josh Tongue 4/42, Ollie Robinson 3/15, Jofra Archer 3/25)

England 156/4 (Emilio Gay 60, Harry Brook 52*; Razaullah 2/42)

England lead by 23 runs.

England will look to build a bigger advantage on Day 2, while Pakistan need early wickets to bring themselves back into the contest.

Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court seeking a chance to fight for her place in India’s squad for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships, challenging a Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) selection framework that she says excludes her for missing competitions during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery.

Phogat has made it clear that she is not seeking automatic selection. Instead, she wants to be allowed to compete in the women’s selection trials scheduled for September 14 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, with her eventual selection to depend entirely on her performance. The Senior World Wrestling Championships are scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked counsel appearing for the WFI to obtain instructions on Phogat’s application and listed the matter for hearing on Thursday.

In her application, Phogat has sought a stay on the operation of the WFI’s September 7 circular to the extent that it excludes her from the selection process. She has also sought a direction to the federation to provisionally include her in the eligibility pool and allow her to participate in the trials.

The fresh application has been moved in Phogat’s pending petition seeking formulation of a policy for women athletes returning to competitive sport after pregnancy and maternity leave.

At the heart of her challenge is the WFI’s eligibility framework for the trials, which Phogat has described as creating a “closed" pathway by linking eligibility to participation and performance in specified competitions.

Under the circular, the women’s trials will be conducted in six Olympics weight categories. Those eligible include medal winners of the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda and the 2026 U23 National Wrestling Championship, besides specified Federation Cup medallists, wrestlers attending the national coaching camp and those selected for the 2026 U20 World Wrestling Championship.

Phogat has argued that she does not fall into any of these categories because her absence from the qualifying competitions was linked to pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum recovery and requirements associated with her return to competitive wrestling.

Her case is that the selection framework provides no mechanism for dealing with a woman athlete who could not participate in the prescribed qualifying events for maternity-related reasons.

Phogat has also relied upon her performance at the Asian Games selection trials on May 30, where she competed in the 53kg category, won her quarterfinal bout and advanced to the semifinals.

She has clarified that the performance is not being cited to claim an automatic place in the Indian team, but as evidence that she has returned to competitive wrestling and should therefore be allowed to enter the World Championships selection trials.

“The Asian Games Selection Trials performance is a relevant circumstance" in determining whether she should be permitted to participate in the September 14 trials, the application states, adding that the ultimate selection can thereafter be made “solely" on the basis of her performance in those trials.

Phogat has argued that the WFI cannot rely on her absence from competitions she could not participate in because of maternity-related circumstances while simultaneously disregarding her subsequent performance after she was given an opportunity to return to competition.

In the ongoing Duleep Trophy final against East Zone, South Zone's skipper Tilak Varma missed his well-deserved century by just one run in the team's first innings.

Facing 211 balls, he smashed 99 runs, with the help of nine boundaries at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After concluding the Duleep Trophy final match, Tilak will gear up for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Ahead of the series, the left-handed batsman has expressed confidence in his form and said that his goal is to win the Afghanistan series.

"Yeah, the (personal) form has been really good. But at the same point, it's a different format (against Afghanistan). So, I should change my gears again. I'm pretty confident about it," he said.

"My goal now is to win the Afghanistan series. So I'll be going with the same confidence and let's see how it goes," added Varma.

The first match of the three-match T20I series between the teams is scheduled to be played on September 13, followed by the second game on September 15. The third match will be played on September 17.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Harshit Rana have also been included in India's squad for the series. However, their feature will be subject to fitness.

Lead pacer Bumrah will mark his return to the squad after being sidelined due to an injury. Earlier, he sustained a knee injury during the ODI series against England, following which he also missed the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

The squad for the Afghanistan series is similar to the Asian Games starting later this month in Japan's Aichi-Nagoya.

IND vs AFG T20Is: Full squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran (C), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Noor Ahmad, Noor ul Rahman (WK), Abdullah Ahmadzai.

(With PTI Inputs)