Jurgen Klopp has revealed that failing to sign Son Heung-min was 'one of the biggest mistakes of his life' during his time in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward plied his trade with Hamburger SV earlier in his career and he decided to snub a move to Dortmund in favour of joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2013.
Son notched up 40 goal contributions during a two-year spell with Leverkusen before signing for Spurs in 2015, and the South Korea international has since become one of the Premier League's biggest stars in North London.
Klopp has heaped praise on Tottenham's No.7, labelling him 'one of the best strikers in the world', but he regrets not luring the 30-year-old to Dortmund earlier in his career.
Speaking to Korean news outlet KBS News, Klopp said: "One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min. Outstanding player.
"He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world."
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Son has since explained that he turned down the chance to join Dortmund in favour of regular first-team football at Leverkusen.
"I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me," Son told reporters via the Daily Mail.
"Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen. That's why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It's really important to play regularly at my age."
Klopp has since managed a plethora of top attacking players during his times at Dortmund and now Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane arguably the two standout names the German has had the pleasure to coach at Anfield.
Son, meanwhile, has gone on to make 344 appearances for Tottenham across all competitions, scoring 136 goals and providing 76 assists, but he is still yet to win a major trophy in his professional career.
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Having endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 campaign under Antonio Conte, Son is hoping to rediscover his form when he represents South Korea at the 2022 World Cup.
The 105-cap international emerged as a major doubt after he required surgery on his eye socket following a collision in the 2-1 Champions League win over Marseille earlier this month.
However, Son has confirmed that he will be heading to Qatar, writing on Instagram: "Hi everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you all for the messages of support I have received over the last week. I have read so many of them and truly, truly appreciate you all. In a tough time I received a lot of strength from you!
"Playing for your country at the World Cup is the dream of so many children growing up, just as it was one of mine too. I won't miss this for the world. I can't wait to represent our beautiful country, see you soon."
Son was unable to help Spurs in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, with Conte's men suffering a surprise 2-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest in the third round, while Klopp's Liverpool edged past League One outfit Derby County on penalties following a goalless draw at Anfield in 90 minutes.
Oliver Thomas
