Jürgen Klopp reveals Manchester United talks

Ahead of this weekend's clash between Manchester United and Liverpool, the Merseysiders' boss Jürgen Klopp has revealed that he could have been sat on the United bench, had loyalty not prevented him leaving Borussia Dortmund upon Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013. In his pre-match press conference, Klopp described the talks he held with a man he recently described as "the John Lennon of football." Quoted in the Guardian:

"We spoke. We spoke not a lot but, for me, it was a lot. It was a big honour, the whole talk, to be honest. There was a time [when United were interested] 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 in but then you are not there any more? That doesn't work. Not in my life anyway.

"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 the smart way but that is my way. Of course I was loyal to Dortmund. It was the same at Mainz."

This story is interesting, if only to cross-reference with the claim Ferguson made in his latest book that Klopp, Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho and Louis van Gaal were all approached before David Moyes. However, given that Klopp apparently didn't hear about "a real offer," it's plausible Ferguson merely wanted the process to seem less of a fait accompli than it actually was.