Mario Gotze has opened up about the influence Jurgen Klopp had on his career and his decision to reject a move to Liverpool once the German coach had taken over the Reds.
The midfielder quickly rose to prominence through his performances for Borussia Dortmund and had already joined Bayern Munich when he scored the World Cup-winning goal for Germany in 2014, aged 22. Gotze eventually returned to Dortmund before making the move to PSV Eindhoven in 2020.
Having begun his career under Klopp at Dortmund - where he won two Bundesliga titles and reached the Champions League final - Gotze admitted he still speaks to his old boss. However, often touted with joining Liverpool in the early parts of his career , the Germany international has shared that he turned down the chance to be reunited at Anfield - though Gotze has mixed feelings about his decision.
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“We are still in touch and we spoke back then about me coming to Liverpool,” Gotze told the Daily Mail . “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.”
Now one of the more experienced players in PSV’s squad, aged 29, Gotze admitted that he initially struggled to adapt from Klopp ’s management style to Pep Guardiola ’s during his time at Bayern. And Gotze has refused to rule out working with the Liverpool boss at some point in the future.
“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,” Gotze continued. “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.”
