"I missed out on a special journey with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool" - Mario Gotze rues failed move to Premier League as he explains why he snubbed Reds

Gotze rose to prominence at Borussia Dortmund under Klopp's guidance. Between 2010 and 2013, he played a crucial role in helping the team secure two Bundesliga titles and one DFB-Pokal. His contributions also propelled the club to the UEFA Champions League final in 2013, showcasing his talents on the global stage.

However, like many of Dortmund’s brightest stars, Gotze eventually moved to Bayern Munich, where he hoped to achieve even greater success. During his three seasons at Bayern Munich, Gotze added three more Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokal trophies to his collection but struggled to make an impact on the pitch.

As Gotze prepared to leave Bayern, Klopp, who had since moved to Liverpool, expressed a keen interest in bringing him to Merseyside. However, Liverpool were in the midst of a rebuilding phase, having finished a disappointing eighth in the Premier League and were to miss out on European football for the upcoming season. Hence, Gotze felt Dortmund was a safer choice, who had just signed Andre Schurrle, one of Gotze’s close friends, making the return to Dortmund even more appealing.

In his column for The Player's Tribune, Gotze wrote: "In 2016, I nearly went to a famous team in England called Liverpool. The coach there was a man named Jürgen Klopp.

"I went to his house in Liverpool, where we sat down together in the living room with our wives. What makes Jürgen 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."

However, Gotze admitted that his impatience and desire for immediate success clouded his judgment.

"But I also wanted to win things right away. I was so impatient! Liverpool had just finished eighth in England, and Dortmund had come second in Germany," he wrote. "Dortmund had also signed André Schürrle, 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 Jürgen. 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."

Klopp’s Liverpool went on to achieve remarkable success, winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, ending a 30-year league title drought. Currently plying his trade at Eintracht Frankfurt, Gotze is set to return to action on Saturday when The Eagles face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.