The Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool was full of success, terrific recruitment and adding to their bloated silverware cabinet. But, despite all of that, he once revealed that not signing one Premier League star was the ‘biggest mistake’ of his career.
Klopp’s 489-game reign at Anfield, which reached its pinnacle between 2018 and 2020 when he won the Premier League and Champions League in back-to-back seasons, came to an end in the summer and he was replaced by Arne Slot.
Proceedings are bright under his successor – but it’s hard to imagine that the embryonic stages of Slot’s tenure would be so fruitful if it wasn’t for the foundations, set ever since Klopp arrived in the summer of 2015 from Borussia Dortmund.
Stuttgart-born Klopp, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest man-managers in football history, had the pleasure of boasting some of the Premier League’s deadliest forwards at his disposal – from Mohamed Salah to Sadio Mane.
But, in 2022, Klopp revealed, while speaking to KBS News, that one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ in his life was not securing the signature of now-Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min, who has plundered 172 strikes and 92 assists in 441 appearances for the north Londoners.
Late in that calendar year, Klopp – now plying his trade as Red Bull’s Global Sports Director– and his men played against Tottenham, but Son was not available by virtue of undergoing surgery on a broken eye socket, as the Merseysiders ran out 2–1 victors.
While the potent marksman’s absence was a benefit to Liverpool and their aspirations on the day, the German tactician said that he hoped Son could return for the World Cup, while also suggesting he had made a “mistake” in not signing the wide-man for Liverpool.
One of the biggest mistakes in my life was not signing him [Son] Outstanding, world-class, and one of the best strikers in the world. I heard he’ll be alright. Maybe need to wear a mask, but even with a mask, he’ll be alright.
Tottenham, with Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, snared the South Korea international’s signature in the summer of 2015 for just £22 million from Bayer Leverkusen and he has since become commonly revered as one of the best wingers in world football.
Immediately striking a dangerous two-man partnership with Harry Kane before the Englishman departed for Bayern Munich, not only has Son provided goal contributions, but his off-the-ball work and leadership qualities have not gone unnoticed in the capital.
Now 32 years of age, the 131-cap, 51-goal South Korea international – since joining Tottenham – has played against Liverpool 19 different times between 2015 and 2025. In that time, he has scored three goals and assisted on four occasions.
