Manchester United are searching for their next permanent manager, but missed out on appointing Jurgen Klopp over a decade ago. The former Borussia Dortmund boss would go on to enjoy extraordinary success at Liverpool before leaving Anfield, having spent almost nine years on Merseyside.

He had previously built a Dortmund side that challenged Bayern Munich’s supremacy in German football, securing two Bundesliga titles, which attracted United’s interest. Klopp was linked with the club prior to Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and again during David Moyes’ struggles the following season, yet no agreement materialised.

The 58-year-old now serves as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, supervising its network of clubs.

Red Bull has recently dismissed claims that the organisation is dissatisfied with Klopp’s performance, which had fuelled speculation about his future. Should the former Liverpool head coach choose to return to management, he has already dismissed joining another English club, leaving United to reflect on what could have been.

United reportedly held talks with Klopp in an attempt to convince the then-Dortmund boss to succeed Moyes in 2014. The club had fallen well below the title-winning standards demonstrated in the previous campaign, eventually finishing seventh.

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Klopp had received widespread acclaim for his accomplishments in Germany but appeared unconvinced by United’s overtures.

In a 2017 biography, Klopp: Bring the Noise, Raphael Honigstein wrote: “Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had flown out to see Klopp in Germany. David Moyes’s short tenure at Old Trafford was coming to an end, and Klopp was United’s favourite to replace him, to bring back a sense of adventure to the Red Devils’ game.

“Woodward told Klopp that the Theatre of Dreams was ‘like an adult version of Disneyland’, a mythical place where, as the nickname suggested, the entertainment was world class and dreams came true.

“Klopp wasn’t entirely convinced by that sales pitch – he found it a bit ‘unsexy’, he told a friend – but he didn’t dismiss the proposition out of hand either.”

Whilst at Liverpool, Klopp appeared baffled when handed a United contract at the start of a press conference. The episode took place after Erik ten Hag’s side had knocked out their adversaries in the FA Cup quarter-finals during Klopp’s final season.

The Liverpool boss was far from pleased when presented with a United contract at the start of his press duties. It transpired that the paperwork was a fake contract signed by YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, during his visit to Old Trafford.

Marc Kosicke, Klopp’s agent, has since stated that both United and Chelsea made advances to his client following his exit from Liverpool in 2024. However, both clubs have denied Kosicke’s claims.

The German boss has disclosed that he was approached to succeed Ferguson in 2013. Nevertheless, Klopp felt it would have been an ill-timed departure from Dortmund.

“In the year when Sir Alex retired, they (United) spoke to me,” Klopp revealed on The Diary of A CEO podcast in October 2025. “Of course, they were interested. At that time, I would’ve been interested – I was young, I had a sensational team at Dortmund. They probably thought, ‘What is he doing there?'”.

“Later on, I heard my players – James Milner and Adam Lallana – had flown to Real Madrid when we [Dortmund] had a semifinal there in the Champions League, just to watch us play. I mean, you can’t get a bigger compliment.

“United tried [to approach me]. It was the wrong time, wrong moment. I had a contract at Dortmund and wouldn’t have left for anybody. There were some things in the conversations [with United] that I didn’t like. The idea was that big – ‘We get all the players we want’ – and I was sitting there thinking, this is not my project.”

In January 2024, Klopp announced his intention to depart Liverpool at the end of that season. Klopp cited his decision to withdraw from management as down to diminished energy levels, whilst emphasising that he harboured no intention of joining any of the club’s Premier League competitors.

“If you ask me, ‘Will you ever work as a manager again?’ I would say now no. But I don’t know obviously how that will feel because I never had the situation,” Klopp stated. “What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent.

“That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people is too big. I couldn’t. I couldn’t for a second think about it. There’s no chance. This is part of my life, we are part of the family, we feel home here. There’s no chance to do that.”

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