Manchester United Refused Kylian Mbappe, Gabriel Jesus for £5M, Says Ryan Giggs

Manchester United legend and former assistant manager Ryan Giggs has said the Red Devils missed out on signing Kylian Mbappe and Gabriel Jesus for as little as £5 million before they rose to superstardom.

Giggs told The Times he was serving as No. 2 to manager Jose Mourinho's predecessor, Louis van Gaal, when he watched Jesus, still at Palmeiras, and Mbappe, who was at AS Monaco (h/t Sky Sports):

"I watched Gabriel Jesus play three years ago. I watched Mbappe for a year. I was watching them with the scout and it was a no-brainer.

"It was just like 'get them.' It would have been £5 million or something—get them, loan them back—and that's where the recruitment could have been better."

Mbappe went on to achieve fame at Monaco and will join Paris Saint-Germain permanently for £166 million next summer following this season's loan. Manchester City snapped up Jesus in the summer of 2016 before he joined the club in January 2017.

PSG's emerging superstar turned 19 on Wednesday but is already dominating Ligue 1. He is one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in football, boasting a maturity beyond his years, as OptaJean recently demonstrated:

The France international won the 2017 Golden Boy award, an annual accolade handed out to football's best under-21 player and voted for by journalists.

As for Jesus, German newspaper Kicker reported in September 2016 that United were one of the clubs that could have landed the forward for just £22 million as recently as last year because of a clause in his Palmeiras contract (h/t Liam Spence of the Daily Express).

A dynasty is developing at City, and Jesus, signed during Pep Guardiola's first summer transfer window in charge of the Sky Blues and a nominee for the 2017 Golden Boy award, has developed a winning streak in England, per Goal:

He's enjoying rampant success at the Etihad Stadium and has supplanted club legend Sergio Aguero in the starting XI of a City side that's 11 points above United at the Premier League summit.

The 20-year-old has settled into life in England well and recently spoke of Guardiola's role in convincing him to join City:

Giggs also said he and Van Gaal argued over several of the club's departures during the Dutchman's reign at the United helm, namely those of Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans and Rafael da Silva, players he described as "United through and through."

Had the Red Devils acted upon Giggs' advice, it could be them benefiting from the world-beating qualities of two of football's most promising prospects.