Klopp accepted an exclusive interview with the podcast program "CEO Diary" and talked about the reasons why he refused to coach Manchester United.
Klopp: "They talked to me the year Sir Alex Ferguson retired and they were interested in me. At that time, I was young and I had built a very good team at Dortmund."
"They tried at the time, but for me It was the wrong time. I was still under contract with Dortmund and I would not leave. They just wanted a manager in that situation and I felt that I should have been just one of the options."
So it was you who rejected Manchester United, not Manchester United who rejected you?
Klopp: "Yes, you can say that."
When a club as big as Manchester United approached you, why would you refuse?
Klopp: "Manchester United, this is very typical. We are not chatting privately, so I don't like the reasons those people told me. Manchester United is so big, we can get all the players we want. I was listening to them telling me that we can sign this person, we To be able to sign that guy...but that wasn't my plan."
"I felt the timing was wrong, and more importantly, that wasn't the plan I wanted to have."
"I didn't want to bring back Pogba, for example, who is, of course, a phenomenal player. But this kind of thing usually doesn't work. Ronaldo and Messi are the best players in the world, but signing them doesn't help the team. "
"Of course 2013 has nothing to do with Ronaldo, it has to do with Pogba...I'm not sure, I don't know the specific time. I mean, it’s not about signing the best players in the world..."
This has nothing to do with football
Klopp: "Yes, it has nothing to do with football at all. So I said I'm not sure, this project may not be suitable for me. "