‘Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign me – Liverpool icon cried when it didn’t happen’

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp cried after club finances meant he couldn’t sign a player he desperately wanted

Jurgen Klopp was left in floods of tears during a phone call with Kevin-Prince Boateng after revealing he couldn’t sign him permanently. During the former Liverpool manager’s time at Borussia Dortmund, he brought the ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in on loan back in 2009.

Boateng’s temporary spell in Germany proved so successful that Klopp wanted to make the deal permanent, but Dortmund’s financial constraints made it impossible. The German manager had to break the devastating news to the former Ghana international over the phone, leaving both men in tears.

The 38-year-old recalled the heart-wrenching moment during an appearance on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast back in 2023. He told the former England defender: “It didn’t work out. He called me personally and said we can’t buy you, we don’t have the money. We both cried on the phone. Like really cried. We had a very good relationship.”

Boateng was still relatively unproven when he made the switch to Dortmund and hadn’t exactly set the world alight at parent club Spurs, where he failed to find the net in 25 outings.

Reflecting on the supporters’ reaction to his arrival, he remembered: “When they announced that I come to Dortmund, they [fans] criticised the club, like: ‘Why [are] you bringing that guy? He’s crazy. Did you see what he did in Tottenham?'”

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Despite the backlash surrounding his signing, Boateng revealed Klopp publicly defended him at a press conference, remembering the German declaring: “I brought him here, I will make him the player he is. Prince Boateng has a book of 1,000 pages and each page is different, that’s how good he is.”

Amongst Klopp’s numerous qualities, his man-management abilities have earned the highest accolades – and it’s a talent that Boateng heaped enormous praise upon. “I said I will give my life for him,” he revealed. “Every player would die for him on the pitch because he gives you that feeling of confidence, that feeling of love as well.

“Whatever you do, if you do a mistake, he’s going to be there. I needed that guy who was going to believe in me because after Martin Jol and Juande Ramos, no-one believed in me. I didn’t believe in myself – I just gave up.”

Boateng confessed he was carrying extra weight at Dortmund but with Klopp’s inspirational touch, he managed to deliver top performances. He continued: “I had like six, seven pounds [of weight] more. So he gave me that feeling, so I came [there] and performed.”

Following his return to north London after the loan spell, he sealed a permanent switch to Portsmouth in 2009, which kick-started a globe-trotting career for Boateng. After 12 months on the south coast, he went on to turn out for Genoa, AC Milan (on two occasions), Schalke, Las Palmas, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sassuolo.

An unexpected loan move to Barcelona materialised in 2019, before a series of stints at Fiorentina, Besiktas (loan) and Monza. His final club brought him full circle as he returned to Hertha Berlin, where he remained for two years before retiring in 2023.

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Since 2025, Boateng has taken the reins of the Australian national team in socca, a version of football played with six players on each side and matches lasting 40 minutes.

The former Dortmund and Tottenham player may be eagerly watching his two old clubs go head-to-head in the Champions League tonight. Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to face Marseille on Wednesday.