Former Borussia Dortmund And Bayern Munich Ace Reveals Why He Snubbed Liverpool

The Reds were heavily linked with a move for the player in the summer of 2016

Bundesliga matchday 28 at the Allianz Arena in Munich - Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund, Mario Götze (BVB) against Robert Lewandowski / IMAGO / Thomas Bielefeld

Former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich attacking midfielder Mario Gotze has revealed why he rejected a move to Liverpool when Jurgen Klopp was in charge of the club.

The Reds were heavily linked with a move for Gotze, who scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, however, the transfer could not materialise.

Liverpool ended up signing Senegal international Sadio Mane from Southampton instead in the summer of 2016 after bagging 25 goals in 75 games for the Saints during his time at St Mary's. Mane made 269 appearances for the Reds between 2016 and 2022, helping the club win their first-ever Premier League title in the 2019/20 campaign.

He also helped the Reds win the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup before departing for Bayern Munich in 2022 in a reported £35m deal.

Gotze, on the other hand, returned to Dortmund after turning down Liverpool. Gotze, who struggled with injuries at his former club is now with Eintracht Frankfurt.

"In 2016, I nearly went to a famous team in England called Liverpool," Gotze writes for The Players' Tribune. "The coach there was a man named Jurgen Klopp. Maybe you have seen pictures of him? Tall, big smile, very funny. Jurgen had been my coach at Dortmund, and I did not realise how lucky I was to have him.

"I went to his house in Liverpool, where we sat down together in the living room with our wives. What makes Jurgen special is that he sees Mario the person. We did not talk much about football. He wasn’t saying, "How can I convince you? What do you want?".

"He asked me about life in general, and I think he said something like, "Look, Mario, you’ll play a lot, and you’ll have fun here. I know that’s the most important thing for you. The club is amazing. Have a think about it". I really wanted to play for him again."

"I wanted to win things right away. I was so impatient!" he continued. "Liverpool had just finished eighth in England, and Dortmund had come second in Germany. Dortmund had also signed Andre Schurrle, one of my best friends in football.

"I remembered how much fun it had been the first time, when we won two league titles and made it to the Champions League final. Maybe things would be like in the good old days, you know? So I went back.

"And as much as I love Dortmund, I do feel that I missed out on a special journey with Jurgen. I didn’t understand that he needed time to build a great team at Liverpool. There was not really any need for me to play in the Champions League right away. I just didn’t think that far ahead."