Jurgen Klopp has admitted that not signing Sadio Mané when he was Borussia Dortmund manager, is his biggest transfer regret.
The German stated this while speaking to Borussia Dortmund fans at the 10-year anniversary celebration of Hout Bay United Football Community, HBUFC, in Cape Town.
Klopp also revealed that Kevin de Bruyne was the player he wished he signed most.
A key difference between trying to sign Mané and de Bruyne, was that Klopp’s attempt to sign the Belgian was blocked by Chelsea.
But according to him, his failure to sign Mané at Dortmund was down to his own misjudgement.
Mané eventually played under Klopp at Liverpool, scoring 120 goals in 269 appearances.
“There are a couple of Dortmund supporters here, so I have to apologise for them, because I didn’t sign Sadio Mané for Dortmund,” Klopp said when asked which player he regretted not signing most.
“I could say I was young and naïve [but] I wasn’t that young and naïve. I realised it when he came to Liverpool. I thought: ‘That’s a lot of money [compared to what Dortmund would have had to spend to sign him initially].”
