Jurgen Klopp has explained the moment Borussia Dortmund offered him the opportunity to return as coach during his Liverpool tenure.
It was the summer of 2018, just after the German had guided the Reds to a Champions League final, when Klopp received a phone call offering him the manager's job at Signal Iduna Park.
The club's CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke was in the market for a manager after Peter Bosz and Peter Stoger failed to make their mark in the Bundesliga during the 2017-18 campaign.
In Watzke's new autobiography, 'Real Love: A life with BVB', Klopp has discussed the surprising mid-flight conversation between himself and the football entrepreneur.
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The 52-year-old said: "At some point my phone rang while I was on the plane and Aki was on it: 'Jurgen, you have to come back'. I laughed, I thought he was kidding.
"'Are you stupid, have you been drinking? How do you get that idea, I have a few more years in Liverpool'.
"I do not know how serious he was at that moment, but I realised that he wanted me to be more willing to respond."
Klopp spent seven years managing the North Rhine outfit, winning two Bundesliga titles in that time.
In his book Watzke admitted: "I knew that Jurgen would say no and that he would fulfil his contract in Liverpool.
"But if you want to go in a new direction, and we had to hit a new path at BVB at that point, then I had to at least ask Jurgen if it was a possibility.
"I did not expect it at all, but I would never have forgiven myself had I not at least asked him at that moment."
The Liverpool boss, who has led his side to eight wins from eight in the Premier League, is contracted to remain at Anfield until 2022.
