Kylian Mbappe reportedly met with Robert Lewandowski over the summer in the hope of convincing the Poland international to make the move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Lewandowski was linked with a number of clubs when he expressed a desire to leave Bayern Munich, but it is believed that the striker's first choice was always Barcelona.
The 34-year-old made the move to Camp Nou in the middle of July, and he has been in excellent scoring form for the Catalan side this term, scoring 18 goals in 19 appearances, in addition to registering four assists.
Lewandowski managed 344 goals in 375 appearances for Bayern, meanwhile, establishing himself as one of the best centre-forwards in world football during his time at Allianz Arena.
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The centre-forward had also been linked with a switch to PSG, though, and according to Le Parisien, Mbappe was desperate for Lewandowski to join him in the French capital.
The report claims that the France international met with the striker in Cannes in the hope of convincing him to reject Barcelona to move to Paris.
Mbappe allegedly viewed Lewandowski as the perfect centre-forward to play alongside, with the Frenchman believing that he could reach a new level if he played alongside the Pole.
However, the striker is said to have made it clear that he was only interested in moving to Camp Nou.
Mbappe and Lewandowski will now face off in the World Cup last-16 on Sunday, with the world champions France taking on Poland for a spot in the quarter-finals.
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Lewandowski has scored once and provided one assist in three appearances at the tournament in Qatar.
The Poland captain was on the scoresheet against Saudi Arabia on November 26, but he could not prevent his side from suffering a 2-0 defeat to Argentina last time out.
Mbappe, meanwhile, has three goals and one assist at the tournament, netting twice in the 2-1 victory over Denmark on November 26, which saw France book their spot in the last-16 stage of the competition.
The forward was only a late substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on November 30, though, with France boss Didier Deschamps making a number of changes for the final group fixture.
The winner of the last-16 clash between France and Poland will take on either England or Senegal in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Matt Law
