Mario Gotze has opened up on previous talks held between himself and Liverpool prior to his eventual switch to Bayern Munich.
The World Cup-winner revealed that he decided to pass on a return under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp in favour of a move back to Borussia Dortmund, as he felt he had a stronger chance of winning European silverware.
“You have to imagine it like this: Where did I come from?” the playmaker told 11 Freunde (via the Echo).
“From Munich, where I had reached the semi-finals in the Champions League three times with Bayern. I wanted to do that again!
“Liverpool finished eighth in the league. In the situation at the time, the likelihood of winning the Champions League with Borussia seemed much greater.”
READ MORE: €40m rumoured Liverpool target wants Anfield move – report
The 28-year-old was once a highly sought-after talent from across all the elite sides in Europe, with Liverpool (then still a sleeping giant in 2016) one of the rumoured interested sides.
As things turned out, Gotze’s gamble on his former side, now bereft of its talismanic coach, hardly paid off, as he won only the German Cup and German Supercup with die Schwarzgelben, whilst we secured a long-awaited Champions League title in 2019, among others.
It’s a shame that a move to Anfield never materialised for the ex-Bayern Munich star, who would have made a potentially brilliant addition to the squad that Klopp was still building at Liverpool five years ago.
Rather this content was ad-free? EOTK PRO gives you exclusive LFC news to your inbox