Asked Jurgen Klopp to come back to Borussia Dortmund, admits Hans-Joachim Watzke

However, it was the German’s spell at Dortmund that truly established him as an up and coming manager, with him winning two back-to-back titles in the Bundesliga. It broke Bayern Munich’s reign over the league with Dortmund reaching the Champions League final as well. But now in an interview, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted that he wanted to bring Klopp back to Germany. The German went on to add that with the club looking to appoint a new manager, he had to try and ask Klopp if he would like the job.

"I knew that Jurgen would decline, that he will fulfil his contract in Liverpool. Jurgen has always fulfilled his contracts, but if you want to go new ways and we had to break new ground at BVB, then at least I had to ask Jurgen if he could possibly imagine that. I did not expect that at all, but I would not have forgiven myself for not asking him at that moment," Watzke wrote in his new book REAL LOVE. A life with BVB.

"The most important thing in our relationship was and is that we can rely on each other blindly. Jurgen never lied to me. He is always honest, even in the job. And I never lied to him. Even in the most difficult phase, in the season of separation, when we crashed to the last place sometime shortly before the separation in the Bundesliga, that was the case,” concluded Watzke.