Revealed: Klopp snubbed Chelsea multiple times before joining Liverpool

Tom Weber

• Updated: 27 Jan 2024 21:12 GMT
• 3 min read

Jurgen Klopp repeatedly rejected Chelsea's advances prior to joining Liverpool, according to a report.

The Reds boss shocked the world of football on Friday by surprisingly announcing that he will leave Anfield at the end of the current campaign despite being under contract until 2026. Due to exhaustion, Klopp will depart Liverpool after almost nine years in charge as the club's most successful manager of the modern era.

The German turned a middling side into Premier League and Champions League winners and the Reds once again top the league standings while still actively fighting for every trophy on offer. The news of Klopp's departure didn't just shock Liverpool fans, of course.

As the announcement came completely out of the blue - with even the players reportedly only being told about it on Friday morning - shockwaves were felt even at rival clubs with the likes of Erik ten Hag at Man Utd and Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea heaping praise on the departing Liverpool boss.

Ironically, had things panned out slightly differently prior to October 2015, Klopp could have been the one in charge of Chelsea rather than Pochettino.

Klopp snubbed Chelsea

According to The Athletic, Chelsea were interested in hiring the 56-year-old "on numerous occasions" before he joined Liverpool. Previous Blues owner Roman Abramovich was very keen indeed on bringing Klopp to Stamford Bridge due to his success with Borussia Dortmund.

However, it is claimed that the German was put off by the Russian oligarch's trigger-happy running of the club, promptly discarding coaches as soon as things went awry. It must be said that things haven't really changed since Abramovich's ousting, with the Blues sacking both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter last season.

As for Klopp and Chelsea, the German will likely never be in the dugout at Stamford Bridge, having already ruled out that he will work for a different English club after his Liverpool departure.