Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he turned down “a few” approaches from Bayern Munich in order to stay at Anfield.
The former Borussia Dortmund head coach has spent the past six-and-a-half years in charge of the Reds and has overseen a stellar period of success during that time.
Since winning his first trophy with the club in the form of the 2018-19 Champions League, Klopp has gone on to add the Premier League, Club World Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Super Cup to his CV.
The Reds also retain hope of completing an unprecedented quadruple, with Chelsea lying in wait at Wembley during Saturday’s FA Cup final before a trip to Paris to face Real Madrid on May 28 in the Champions League final.
Klopp had initially outlined his plans to take a sabbatical when his Liverpool contract expired in 2024, but he signed an extension until 2026 last month.
The 54-year-old’s new contract would take him to over 10 years of service on Merseyside, but he has not been without temptation from foreign teams.
Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final with Chelsea, Klopp revealed that he had been approached by Bayern Munich on a number of occasions but turned down the chance to join the perennial Bundesliga champions.
“I could have gone to Bayern a few times, I could have won more titles in my life, pretty sure I would say — I didn’t do it. I had a contract here and I never went to Bayern,” Klopp said during his pre-match press conference.
“That’s completely fine. The world is not full of winners, the world is full of triers hopefully. And I try and sometimes I win with some other people together. I am happy with that.”
Pep Guardiola was still in charge of Bayern when Klopp left for Liverpool in October 2015, but the Catalan coach followed his counterpart to the Premier League less than a year later.
Since then, Bayern have welcomed Carlo Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes, Niko Kovac and Hansi Flick into the dugout, as well as a short caretaker stint for Willy Sagnol.
Following Flick’s departure for the German national team, Bayern appointed Julian Nagelsmann from RB Leipzig, and the 34-year-old has already steered the club to the 2021-22 Bundesliga title.
Meanwhile, Klopp has now taken charge of 377 games for Liverpool across all competitions, posting 232 wins, 85 draws and 60 defeats in the process.
The Reds boss also confirmed that Fabinho would be fit to return for the Champions League final after picking up a hamstring injury against Aston Villa, but he would not be available against Chelsea.
