Highlights

• Jurgen Klopp turned down Manchester United in 2014 because it didn't feel right, preferring to wait for the right opportunity.
• Klopp said he always saw himself as meant for Liverpool and was willing to wait for their call.
• According to Robbie Fowler, he rejected Manchester United and other super-rich clubs because he didn't like their focus on commercial influences.

Jurgen Klopp once revealed that he turned down Manchester United in 2014 and explained why he let the opportunity to manage the great club pass him by. The German has, of course, led the Red Devils' greatest rivals to Premier League and Champions League success during his nine-year stint at Liverpool.

Having first arrived at Anfield in October 2015 to replace Brendan Rodgers, the ex-Borussia Dortmund boss has confirmed his decision to depart the Merseyside club at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

The fortunes of both Liverpool and Manchester United have changed dramatically since his arrival as the latter - while still recovering from Sir Alex Ferguson's departure two years earlier - were still seen as the most likely to lift the league trophy next. With Klopp's time in the Premier League dwindling, he is extremely unlucky to not have more than his one winners medal in the competition, while United haven't even had a sniff of a title race.

During his spell with the Reds, Klopp has seen six different men take charge of the team he could have joined in 2014 - Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Ragnick, and Erik ten Hag. With that being said, what made the German turn down the opportunity?

Why Jurgen Klopp turned Man United down

He would have replaced David Moyes had he accepted

Back in the summer of 2014 - almost a decade ago -Liverpool had little interest in approaching any managers after their sensational 2013/14 season under Brendan Rodgers. The now-Celtic manager's Luis Suarez-inspired side narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, but their performance over the season saw Rodgers handed a long-term contract at the club.

United, on the other hand, were very much on the hunt for something new. David Moyes, or "the chosen one" as he had been known a year before, had been sacked as manager after a massively disappointing attempt at retaining the league title that Sir Alex Ferguson had won in his final season.

They wanted a big-name coach to really shake things up, and according to Klopp, approached the then-Borussia Dortmund boss. He wasn't wasn't interested, however. Speaking with former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson for Sky Sports, Klopp explained that it was always going to take something specific to lure him.

When asked if he felt he was 'meant for Liverpool', Klopp said, "To be honest? Yes. I'm a football romantic. I'm confident but not as confident as other managers, thinking this club will call, that club will call. A lot of clubs called, and I said 'No, no chance, I need to make a break now'."

He was, however, very open about his desire to manage the club he has now led for almost nine years: "Even my wife knew, if Liverpool is calling, I go."

United were one of the clubs to approach the German in 2014. Klopp explained: "Manchester United, yes they were interested a year or a year-and-a-half before, but it didn't feel right. I couldn't say Man United is not my club, but it didn't feel right."

Few managers would turn down the opportunity to coach United, but Klopp's rejection forced United to look elsewhere. That would turn out to be Louis van Gaal, a manager with very different ideas than Klopp.

Things have changed since then, with Rodgers unable to replicate his 2013/14 season and facing the sack in late 2015. Klopp, then on a sabbatical, got that call from Liverpool.

"When Liverpool called, I had no chance," he explained. "It was actually too early for my plans. I said, 'Wow, come on!' But then coming here and feeling the spirit immediately, it was just, for me, a match in heaven." Liverpool fans will be forever grateful that they got their man, while United have been forced to switch managers on numerous occasions.

Robbie Fowler claims Klopp also rejected Real Madrid

The Liverpool boss reportedly turned down Man United and another massive European club

In his column for the Mirror, Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler shed further light on the reason behind Klopp's Manchester United rejection. The ex-striker revealed: "I did an interview with him a couple of years ago and he told me he turned down a couple of super-rich clubs after Dortmund – one of them was definitely ­Manchester United, the other probably Real Madrid."

The reason for turning down these opportunities, in Fowler's words, was that: "he hated how they were focused solely on ­commercial influences." With Liverpool being a different proposition, the former Liverpool forward expanded: "He said he liked Liverpool because they had a balance between the money needed to reach the top and the ­history and identity of the club and their fans."

Things could have been completely different had Klopp decided to take on the project at Old Trafford rather than Anfield. The entire landscape of the Premier League could have been changed completely.