Mbappe could have become the direct replacement for Neymar, who left the Camp Nou for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017.
Barcelona were desperate to replace the Brazil international before the start of the 2017/2018 and inquired about the availability of Mbappe.
Bordas has explained that securing the signature of the France international was within the Catalans’ grasp but the club opted to invest in the signing of Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund.
“When we were to sign Dembele, agent Josep Maria Minguella called me to tell us Mbappe was within reach,” Bordas told Mundo Deportivo. “I spoke with Josep Maria Bartomeu and he told me to look at him.
“I called Mbappe’s father and he told me that he was not going to go to Real Madrid because Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were there and that instead he could go to Barca because Neymar had left.
“The president of Monaco preferred that he signed for Barcelona so as not to reinforced
PSG, a direct rival. And it could have been done for €100m (£90m/$118m).
“Robert preferred Dembele and Pep Segura supported him. The explanation was that Mbappe plays for himself and Dembele plays for the team, and since a winger like Ney had left, Robert preferred a winger more than a finisher.”
Mbappe eventually moved to PSG that same summer to team up with Neymar.
