Alex Ferguson admitted that he was ‘worried’ about Jurgen Klopp in a conversation with Jamie Carragher early in the German’s Liverpool reign.
The former centre-half had spoken to the legendary Manchester United manager on the 54-year-old during a testimonial game.
“You can see and feel that energy from the side of the pitch. When Jurgen Klopp first came to Liverpool we knew he was a character, he was a personality, I actually said at the time this wasn’t a signing just for Liverpool, it was for the Premier League,” the Monday Night Football host spoke on the Gary Neville Podcast (via the Mirror).
“You knew there was something special. I played in a game at Old Trafford, I think it was Michael Carrick’s testimonial, and Alex Ferguson went around the dressing room shaking hands, saying ‘thanks for coming’, I think he was manager of one of the teams.
“Jurgen Klopp had been at the club about a month and he [Ferguson] came to me and said, ‘you’ve got a manager’. I went, ‘oh yeah, good, Jurgen Klopp’s made a decent start’, and he [Ferguson] went, ‘no, no, I’m worried’.”
The Reds boss has proven to be a revelation at the Anfield helm following his move to the English top-flight securing the return of the title after a 30-year hiatus and a Champions League trophy.
It’s fair to say that Ferguson’s concerns came to fruition, with the former Borussia Dortmund head coach having restored us to the pinnacle of European football.
The gulf between Liverpool and Manchester United couldn’t have been clearer than what fans witnessed in the second dismantling of the Red Devils this term, with us securing a nine-goal aggregate across our two league meetings.
With a historic quadruple on the line, we’ll be hoping to see Klopp further secure his legacy in Merseyside with more additions to the trophy cabinet before his contract expires in 2024.