Jurgen Klopp did not come to Man United because of Ronaldo and Pogba

Former Liverpool legend Jurgen Klopp revealed that he was invited by Man United to become head coach in 2013. One of the reasons he refused was because the team intended to bring in stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba.

Former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp shared in the podcast The Diary of a CEO - Photo: MSN

Sharing in the podcast The Diary of a CEO on the evening of October 20, the German strategist admitted that he had serious conversations with the Man United leadership in 2013. At that time, Jurgen Klopp was leading Borussia Dortmund and was considered one of the most talented young coaches in Europe.

"Yes, I spoke to them. The year Sir Alex retired, they contacted me. Of course they were interested and I was a little bit interested. I was at Dortmund, young, with a great squad. Maybe they looked at me and thought 'what is this guy doing there?'," Klopp shared.

However, Klopp stressed that timing and commitment were factors that made him refuse. "I still have a contract and I do not intend to leave Dortmund, no matter who it is for."

More importantly than the contract, the Red Devils' management philosophy and development direction at that time did not convince Klopp. He felt that Man United's project had a feeling of being too "big" but lacking in reality.

"During the conversation, there were a few things they said that I didn't like. It felt like Man United was too big, like 'we can get whoever we want'. I sat there listening and felt... it wasn't my style," Klopp revealed.

Klopp gave the example of Man United discussing the possibility of bringing big stars back to the team, which he said was a risky strategy.

"They talk about bringing back some names, like Paul Pogba for example. Pogba is a good player, but 'bringing back the old player' rarely works. Or like Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Messi, two of the greatest players in the world , but returning to the old place is not always good," he analyzed.

Klopp concluded that the core idea of ​​the Man United board at the time was to “get the best players and just win”, a view he considered to be a simplification of football. It was this profound difference in philosophy that made Liverpool lucky to have their “hero” a few years later.

In addition, when talking about future plans, the 58-year-old strategist affirmed: "I once said that I would never lead another team in England, so if one day I return, the only team that could be Liverpool. In theory, that could still happen. However, at the moment, I do not miss coaching. I still work related to football, but in a way that is no longer directly with the players."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/jurgen-klopp-khong-den-man-united-vi-ronaldo-va-pogba-20251021102820642.htm