Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed he almost joined Reds rivals Manchester United and refused to rule out returning to Anfield in in a sit-down interview on The Diary of a CEO.
He also discussed his upbringing and his management style.
The Diary of a CEO is a long-form podcast channel on YouTube with more than 13 million subscribers and over one billion total views.
In the almost two-and-a-half-hour interview, Klopp, 58, spoke candidly on his upbringing in the countryside in the Black Forest, the loss of his mother in 2021 and how he had the opportunity to join Manchester United.
Here’s five things we learnt from Jurgen Klopp’s interview:
Possible Return to Liverpool
He is currently Head of Global Soccer for the Red Bull group, in which he is an advisor to all Red Bull affiliated football clubs such as RB Leipzig, Salzburg, and New York Red Bulls.
Announcing he would be leaving Liverpool in January 2024, Klopp declared that if he was to return to management it would ‘never ever’ be for a ‘different club in England.’
When asked if returning to Liverpool would be within the realm of possibilities, he admitted: “I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means if it is Liverpool, yes, theoretically it is possible.”
The German coach managed Liverpool for nine years, winning the UEFA Champions League and Premier League in the process and became an icon at the club.
He confirmed that there are upsides to his new career.
He said: “I don’t miss it (management). I don’t miss standing in the rain for two-and-a-half or three hours. I also don’t miss going to press conferences three times a week…having 10 or 12 interviews a week, I don’t miss that.”
Players on Social Media
Klopp shared a story in which he got wind that a player had posted on social media at 3am, seemingly aimed at him, but was soon deleted:
“We had a situation that a player had posted something at night and deleted it,” he said.
The next day, Klopp says in front of the squad, he called out the player and asked him to announce to the squad what they had posted and the reason behind it, comically ending the story by saying ‘that’s nice, eh?’.
He went on to say: “The thing is I don’t go for him and say how can write that?! I said, ‘come on, tell the whole team what you wanted to say.”
The effect that had on the players meant that nobody ever did it again, showcasing Klopp’s exceptional man management skills.
On the subject of man management…
Klopp discussed his philosophy of leadership and management. His main aim was to create an unbreakable bond between the players and believed his role was to ‘help the team grow together’.
The charismatic approach to Klopp’s management allowed him to create a culture and environment in which players are trusted and were allowed to grow as people and players.
He believes that the way in which his team interacted with all the staff in the training ground such as the kitchen staff, kit staff and ground-staff was ‘the most important thing.’
When asked how is not being respectful to the ground-staff going to lose you the Champions League, he explained: “I believe in if you cannot do that, if you cannot appreciate what other people do, you cannot appreciate what your team mate is doing.”
Speaking on his man management skills and the importance of player communication, he said: “I treat each individual player differently. And sometimes a player would come up to me and say: ‘You would never speak the same way to me like you did him!’
“And I would respond: ‘No, I wouldn’t, because he grew up in Argentina in a house with no windows, and you grew up in Munich. And now you want me to treat you like him? Growing up in places like Argentina or Senegal is different than growing up in Munich.”
He continued: “Every player needs different treatment. I don’t tell James Milner what he has to do because I know he will do it, but I do tell Trent to do it.”
Almost Joining Manchester United
Klopp revealed that he almost joined Liverpool’s arch-rivals Manchester United back in 2013, following a meeting with Man Utd’s hierarchy.
In the shocking revelation, he claims he turned down the job because he felt ‘it was not my project’ after being told the club wanted to sign Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He revealed: “They tried. It was the wrong time, wrong moment… There are some reasons (why he didn’t take the job). The people in that conversation told me (things) which I didn’t like.
“So, United was that big ‘we get all the players we want, we get him, we get him, we get him’ and I was sitting there like ‘huh?’.
“It was not my project, it didn’t feel like my project, it was the wrong time but on top of that, it was not my project. I didn’t want to bring back (Paul) Pogba, Pogba is a sensational player my God, but these things don’t work usually.
“Or Cristiano [Ronaldo] my God we all know he’s the best player in the world together with (Lionel) Messi. Bringing him back never helps, in that time in 2013.”
The German went on to join Liverpool in 2015 and won seven major trophies during his nine-year tenure at Anfield.
Losing Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018
Klopp recalled his disappointment in selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018, for a reported fee of £142 million including add-ons.
He said: “On the day we sold Phil Coutinho, that’s not the day I thought ‘oh, good we have the money’ – I lost a player I wanted to work with for the next 10 years.”
Liverpool invested on the defensive side – signing goalkeeper Alisson Becker and centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, who revolutionised Liverpool into the winning machine they are today.
The sale of Coutinho is widely regarded as the catalyst of Liverpool’s success which seen them win both the Premier League title and European Cup and define Jurgen Klopp’s reign.
