Mario Gotze admits that snubbing a move to Liverpool in 2016 that would have seen him reunited with Jurgen Klopp was the “wrong decision”.
A man that hit the winning goal for Germany in extra-time of the 2014 World Cup final had seen his career stall significantly at that point, with a once hot prospect rather losing his way.
A move to Bayern Munich that saw him become the most expensive German player in history at the time did not play out as planned, and he decided to return to Borussia Dortmund after three years at the Allianz Arena.
What has been said?
Gotze could have headed to Anfield when reaching that crossroads, allowing him to work with Klopp again, and the now PSV playmaker has told the Daily Mail of snubbing the man that handed him a senior debut at the age of 17: “We are still in touch and we spoke back then about me coming to Liverpool. But I wasn’t in a state of mind where I could consider it, that’s why it didn’t happen.
“Do I regret it? It’s always difficult to look back but if you ask me now then yeah, I should have joined Liverpool for sure. I just made a wrong decision but it’s not a regret.
“Klopp probably made the biggest impact on my career. He can be very demanding – he can be your friend but also very harsh at the same time. It pushes you to great performances. That’s what happened with me back then, and it’s happened with Liverpool now.
“He is a manager not just for the players but everyone at the club, and then one-on-one he can be a friend as well as a boss. Can I imagine working with him again? I can imagine that, yes – we’ll see.
“He’s a good coach, for sure. He and Pep Guardiola are the most important coaches and characters I had in my career.”
The bigger picture
After breaking through at Dortmund and spending time with Bayern, the first seven years of Gotze’s career were spent working under Klopp and Guardiola – two of the very best in the business.
He considers himself fortunate to have taken in those experiences, even if he was unable to unlock his full potential.
Gotze, who has 63 international caps to his name and is not giving up on earning a place at the 2022 World Cup, added on the legendary coaches he has played under: “Klopp’s strength is speaking to players in a certain way, helping them. But if you meet Pep off the field he’s a great guy. You can speak to him about family, private stuff, so he’s a great person.
“But if you play in his team he is very demanding. That’s a good thing because he’s pushing you a lot but sometimes you need a different angle as a player.
“Back then, though, I was used to Klopp and this was my comparison. When I look now, I like what Pep does – being distant sometimes, keeping high-performing athletes together. Maybe I would do it the same way.”
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