Revealed: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp turned down Man Utd approach from Sir Alex Ferguson

JURGEN KLOPP rebuffed an approach from Sir Alex Ferguson to succeed him as Manchester United manager.

 

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool sit three points and three places behind Man Utd heading into the weekend

 

As he prepared for Liverpool's showdown with United tomorrow, Klopp said his loyalty to Borussia Dortmund had been too strong to encourage Ferguson's advances in 2013.

"We spoke," said Klopp. "It was a big honour, the whole talk, but I could not leave Dortmund. That is it.

"You are in April and you are in the middle of the planning for next season. You have this player and this player and this player who is coming, but then you are not there any more? That doesn't work. Not in my life.

"I did not hear about a real offer 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."

Klopp had deals lined up for Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that summer and United ended up appointing David Moyes following Ferguson's retirement after 26 years at Old Trafford.

The esteem in which Ferguson holds Klopp was emphasised when he said he was "worried" by the German's eventual arrival in English football at Anfield in October.

Klopp returned the compliments yesterday when hailing Ferguson's managerial record.

"Maybe he is the greatest ever - the John Lennon of football or something like this," he said. "From my side there is a big amount of respect. What he did in his life as a manager is not easy for someone else to do."

 

The Liverpool manager also backed tomorrow's rival Louis van Gaal and said sacking the Dutchman was not the answer to United's issues.

"I didn't watch too much of these things at United, but I heard about it," said Klopp. "I know Louis is not too happy with the media at the moment but in life it is important sometimes to switch and think about how it would be on the other side.

"Okay, fine, you would have all this money but also all this pressure so it is not nice. If you want to change things in football it is not okay that you think, 'Bad, bad, bad - go'. That is not a change.

"If that was the solution Man United would have done it. But it is not a solution so they have to carry on. It is not our problem, but it is a manager's problem."