Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp was close to joining Bayern Munich, reveals club president Uli Hoeness
What's the story?
FC Bayern Munich President, Uli Hoeness has claimed that current Liverpool coach came very close to joining the club. Hoeness claimed that Bayern were interested in securing the German coach almost 11 years ago, when Klopp was managing Mainz.
In case you didn't know...
Former Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp is doing wonders at Liverpool. After reaching the Champions League final with Liverpool last season, Klopp's Liverpool are proving to be worthy English Premier League challengers as they are 2nd in the table. Liverpool have the same number of points as leaders Manchester City and have one game in hand.
Klopp was also the coach of Munich's arch rivals Dortmund, whom he left in 2015 after winning five trophies which include two Bundesliga titles, one DFB Pokal and two DFL Supercups. As is evident, Klopp's Dortmund were worthy challengers to the mighty Bavarians
Meanwhile, Munich are currently under the guidance of NIko Kovac. They are second in the Bundesliga table, 5 points behind league leaders Dortmund.
The heart of the matter
Bundesliga giants Munich were interested in securing his services but ended up signing Jurgen Klinsmann instead, Hoeness revealed. Bayern Munich will meet Liverpool in the Champions League knockout round clash and Hoeness spoke about his respect towards Klopp.
"Personally, I have a high opinion of Jürgen Klopp," Hoeness told reporters as quoted by Spanish media outlet AS.
"Many years ago we agreed on a collaboration together, but we ended up signing Jürgen Klinsmann instead. There I showed I respect him and his work a lot. It's going to be a tough task for both sides. I hope we'll come out on top.", he added.
What's next?
Although both Bayern and Liverpool will look to lift the league title at the end of the season, their focus will also be on the Champions League. Liverpool will host Munich at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie next week.