Ilkay Gundogan has revealed his previous experience with Jurgen Klopp pushed him to join Manchester City over Liverpool.
The German midfielder enjoyed a productive four-year spell with the current Reds boss, winning the Bundesliga and reaching the Champions League final.
And when the 29-year-old opted for a new challenge in 2016, he admits a fear of spoiling his fondness for Klopp from their time together at the Westfalenstadion pushed him to work with somebody new.
“I believe in challenges in life and I always try to challenge myself first of all,” Gundogan told FantasyPL.
“I feel like if I don’t challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone, I’m not going to change anything and won’t improve.
“So I had a great four years with Jurgen and I love him as a person and a manager but I felt it was time for something else.
“I wanted to leave Dortmund in Dortmund and didn’t want to think about the time I had with him when I was joining a new club. That was a bit of the reason why I didn’t want to join Liverpool.”
Gundogan has since won two Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.
He has three more years remaining on his contract after extending to 2023 at the start of the season.
After four seasons at City, Gundogan has 147 appearances and 22 goals.
