Klopp reveals: these two superstars nearly joined BVB

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4 July 2026

Borussia Dortmund once came close to signing not just one, but two future world stars. Jürgen Klopp has now revealed why both transfers ultimately fell through.

Jürgen Klopp has offered a fascinating insight into his time as

Borussia Dortmund

coach, revealing that

BVB

once came very close to signing two players who later became world stars. Speaking in his role as an expert for

MagentaTV

, the former title-winning coach talked about the transfers of

Kevin De Bruyne

and

Sadio Mané

that nearly happened.

Talks with De Bruyne were especially advanced. Klopp explained that the Belgian was practically already in Dortmund in the summer of 2013. “He is a top, top player. And I practically already had him in Dortmund,” the 59-year-old recalled.

According to Klopp,

and Chelsea had already reached an agreement. But then Chelsea coach at the time, José Mourinho, stepped in and prevented the move. “Jose didn’t want it,” Klopp said. Mourinho had advised his player: “Come on, boy, stay at Chelsea a little longer and give it a try.” In hindsight, however, that decision did not work out well for De Bruyne. Under Mourinho, the midfielder barely got any playing time and moved to VfL Wolfsburg at the beginning of 2014.

There, he developed into a Bundesliga star before being signed by Manchester City. In England, De Bruyne became one of the most successful players of his generation, winning numerous league titles and the Champions League. To this day, Klopp regrets that they never got the chance to work together. “The good relationship we truly have today comes from the fact that we really wanted to work together back then. Unfortunately, it never happened,” said the former

coach, adding: “That was a real shame. He would have been very good for us.”

Photo: IMAGO

Alongside De Bruyne, Klopp also spoke about

, whom he would also have liked to bring to Dortmund. The now Champions League winner even came to

for talks, but Klopp misread his behavior at the time. “I misunderstood it. He was insecure, and I read it the wrong way. Then I thought he wasn’t ready yet.”

Instead of moving to Dortmund, Mané joined Southampton. He impressed immediately there and proved to Klopp that his assessment had been wrong. The coach later brought the Senegal international to Liverpool, where the two went on to win, among other things, the Champions League and the English league title together.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence.

You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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