Jurgen Klopp has revealed he turned down an approach to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as manager of Manchester United.
The
Liverpool boss was sounded out by Ferguson in 2013 as the Old Trafford
legend prepared to announce his retirement after his trophy-laden 27
years in charge.
But
Klopp, who faces United for the first time on Sunday at Anfield, felt
it would have been the wrong time to walk away from Borussia Dortmund.
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp turned down the chance to move to Manchester United in 2013 |
David Moyes
ultimately landed the job, but Ferguson revealed in a recent BBC
documentary that United's executives 'knew Jose Mourinho was going to
Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti was going to Real Madrid and Jurgen Klopp had
signed a contract with Dortmund'.
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Legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson led United to unprecedented success during his 27-year spell at the club |
Klopp
expanded on the discussions and explained that his commitment to
Dortmund at the time was so strong that he could not consider moving to
England.
'We
spoke,' said Klopp. 'We spoke not a lot but, for me, it was a lot. It
was a big honour, the whole talk, to be honest. But I could not leave
Dortmund.
'You
are in April and you are in the middle of the planning for next season.
You have this player and this player who are coming but then you are
not there anymore? That doesn't work. Not in my life.
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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (center) is put through his paces ahead of Sunday's league game |
'I didn't
hear about a real offer (from United) but, if there was, I could not
have done it. I first had to finish the job with Dortmund and then think
about other things.
'Maybe that is not smart but that is my way. It was the same at Mainz.'
Asked
directly if Ferguson said to him, 'Will you become the next Manchester
United manager?', Klopp replied: 'There is nothing more to say on this.'
The
German eventually left Dortmund at the end of last season and, after a
short break from the game, took over from Brendan Rodgers at Anfield in
October.
But Klopp
did not disguise his esteem for Ferguson. 'It's a big honour to talk to
Sir Alex,' he said. 'For a manager it's nearly the best thing you can
do, to sit there and listen. OK, I needed 10 minutes to understand him
and then it was OK.
'Maybe
he is the greatest ever — the John Lennon of football. From my side
there is a big amount of respect. What he did is not easy for another
manager to do.'
Louis
van Gaal is certainly finding it difficult to recreate the aura that
was evident around Ferguson's United. But the Dutchman was relatively
relaxed on Friday and enjoyed stoking the rivalry between the two clubs.
Liverpool
have not been champions since 1990. And though United went 26 years
without winning the title before 1993, Van Gaal insisted they will never
suffer a drought like the one being experienced on Merseyside.
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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been criticised by some fans for his defensive tactics |
Van Gaal
said: 'You say that when it is happening to Liverpool it can happen to
Manchester United, but I cannot imagine that happening to us. We are in
transition and we are going in the right way.
'United are too big, too well organised and we are improving the infrastructure every year.'
The
last time Klopp and Van Gaal went head-to-head, Dortmund beat Bayern
Munich 3-1 in February 2011 en route to winning the Bundesliga. Should
Liverpool repeat that score, there would be a fresh clamour to dismiss
Van Gaal.
But Klopp said: 'If that was the solution I think United would have done it. But it's not the solution.'
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