Jurgen Klopp 'wanted to punch himself' over failed Sadio Mane move

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 19 November 2016

Klopp 'wanted to punch himself' over Mane move

Jurgen Klopp admits that making a £34m bid for Sadio Mane this summer was a "pretty simple" decision to make, as he had already once missed out on the Senegalese.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he was furious with himself after missing out on bringing Sadio Mane to Borussia Dortmund while manager of the German club.

The then-Red Bull Salzburg winger was picked out by Klopp as a real star of the future, only to pass up the opportunity to sign him after holding a round of talks.

Mane instead moved to Southampton the same year, where his displays proved enough to tempt Klopp into making a £34m bid this summer to bring the Senegal international to Anfield.

"With Sadio it was pretty simple because I made the mistake at Dortmund where I didn't take him," Klopp told reporters. "We talked. I think everyone knows we met each other and by the end I didn't feel (claps hands) this. Around about three months later I would have punched myself so I knew already that the next chance I had I would take it.

"So it was not difficult to take this decision, it was very easy. When the club came and when Michael Edwards said we have an opportunity. No talks were necessary any more. It was a case of 'let's do it'. We spoke and I liked the player. But at Dortmund in that position I was happy and we could only get one, not two or three, so it needed to be the right, exact fit in that moment.

"I'm not a genius so I couldn't exactly imagine the Austrian League where he was. What does it mean? What does it mean for the football? That's it. I have made more mistakes in my life like this actually. I think he would have been more expensive if we had taken him to Dortmund and then he had been sold to Liverpool, so all good for Liverpool! My first Liverpool decision, the more I think about it, nice!"

Klopp's first campaign as Liverpool boss has started in an impressive manner, with the Reds dropping just seven points across their first 11 Premier League games to move top of the table.