Jurgen Klopp snubbed Manchester United because his wife said the club wasn’t right for him

Jurgen Klopp with his wife, Ulla, in 2014
Bongarts/Getty Images
Richard Parry28 June 2020

Jurgen Klopp snubbed the chance to become Manchester United’s manager in 2013 because his wife, UIlla, had a bad feeling about the club.

Back then, United were looking to appoint a successor for the departing Alex Ferguson, and they had earmarked the former Borussia Dortmund boss as a candidate.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward gave Klopp – who had won the Bundesliga title twice and reached the Champions League final – a tour of Old Trafford, but it was Klopp’s wife who played a key role in the German making up his mind.

Former Liverpool star Phil Thompson tells the story:

"I interviewed Klopp for Sky, and I asked if he and Liverpool were created for each other. He looked at me and asked "Why?"," the Liverpool legend told TV2 in Norway.

"Then Klopp told me he could have taken over Manchester United, but his wife said it wasn't right.

"When Liverpool arrived, his wife said it was right. There is something strange there."

"It is as if he's created for Liverpool."

The rest, as they say, is history. United would go on to appoint David Moyes, then Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a period of turmoil, while Klopp would join Liverpool.

In Pictures | Liverpool players celebrate Premier League 2019-20 title

1/11

Klopp has guided Liverpool to two Champions League finals, winning one, before ending their 30-year wait for a league title – their first ever Premier League title – in a season in which they won the Club World Cup also.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT