Jurgen Klopp has lifted the lid on the moment he could have become Manchester United manager and why he decided to walk away.
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, the former Liverpool boss revealed he was approached by United in 2013 while leading Borussia Dortmund, but the talks left him cold.
“In the year when Sir Alex retired, they spoke to me,” Klopp said. “Of course, I was flattered. I was young, Dortmund were flying, and they probably thought, ‘What is he doing there?’ But it was the wrong time and the wrong project.”
Ferguson’s departure ended one of football’s greatest dynasties. Since then, United have lurched from one crisis to another, sliding from champions to mid-table under a carousel of managers. Last season they finished 15th under Ruben Amorim, a far cry from the glory days of 13 league titles and two European Cups.
Klopp, meanwhile, joined Liverpool in 2015 and transformed the club. He brought back the swagger, delivered a Champions League crown in 2019, and ended a 30-year wait for the Premier League title in 2020. Even after his departure in 2024, his legacy remained, with Arne Slot’s side lifting the league again.
Asked if he turned United down, Klopp smiled and said, “Yes.” But he went further, explaining exactly what put him off. “There were things in the talks I didn’t like. The idea was too big. ‘We get all the players we want, him and him.’ I was sitting there thinking, this is not my project.”
He added that the obsession with star names was a red flag. “I didn’t want to bring back Pogba. A sensational player, yes, but those things rarely work. Or Cristiano – one of the best ever, but bringing players back usually doesn’t help.”
United’s post-Ferguson years have been marked by huge spending and little success. Angel Di Maria, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Pogba, Ronaldo – all arrived with fanfare, all failed to restore the magic. Klopp, by contrast, built success through belief, identity and relentless energy.
When asked why United have struggled so badly since Ferguson, Klopp chuckled. “Since I joined Liverpool, I never thought about what United did right or wrong. You just focus on your own club. But football is simple – when you rush, you make mistakes. United kept trying to solve problems for a year or two instead of building something lasting.”
He pointed to Jose Mourinho’s sacking after finishing second in 2018 as the perfect example. “He said it was one of his biggest achievements. He was right. Second was not good enough then – and now they’d love to be that close again.”
Klopp summed it up with a wry smile: “United is United. Every step is under a microscope. The only problem is that while they’ve been fixing problems, everyone else has moved ahead.”
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