Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quick to name the two Premier League players he most regrets not signing during his career.
Klopp stepped down from his role at Anfield last summer after nearly nine years in charge, during which he won both the Premier League and Champions League, restoring Liverpool to the top of English and European football.
During his tenure, he secured key signings such as Alisson, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk while also nurturing young talents like Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Conor Bradley through the club’s academy.
In his final season, Liverpool invested in midfield reinforcements, bringing in Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ryan Gravenberch to revamp an ageing squad.
Before his Liverpool stint, Klopp spent seven years at Borussia Dortmund, transforming them from a mid-table Bundesliga side into title contenders. He oversaw the arrivals of Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, all of whom played crucial roles in Dortmund’s rise.
Despite his many successful transfers, Klopp admitted he still regrets missing out on three Premier League stars—although he did eventually sign one after joining Liverpool.
Speaking at a recent event, he revealed:
“There’s a Dortmund supporter here—I have to apologize because I didn’t sign Sadio Mané for Dortmund. I could say I was young and naive, but I wasn’t that young or that naive. When we finally got him at Liverpool, I thought, ‘That’s a lot of money for someone I could have signed for much less years ago.’”
“I could’ve also signed Son Heung-min when he was at Hamburg. Facing him in the Premier League later, I thought, ‘My God, you idiot, why didn’t you sign him for Dortmund?’”
“Kevin De Bruyne was also really close. Then he destroyed us in the cup final with Wolfsburg—so that was a double regret.”
Klopp, however, downplayed dwelling on past decisions, adding, “I don’t think it makes much sense to have regrets. You make the best decisions at the time, and you just have to live with them.”