Jurgen Klopp claims texting pal Sir Alex Ferguson has 'forgiven' him

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed he remains in contact with Manchester United great Sir Alex Ferguson, who he believes has forgiven him for snubbing a move to Old Trafford in 2013.

Ferguson retired from management in 2013 and had sounded out Klopp as a potential replacement. However, the German rejected the move in favour of staying with Borussia Dortmund, only to end up in England with rivals Liverpool two years later.

It's believed that United failed with a handful of approaches to Klopp, but the Liverpool boss insisted he has no regrets about his decision and Ferguson hasn't taken it personally - even 'honouring' Klopp with his personal phone number.

“I have never thought how it would have been in Manchester," he revealed (via The Mirror). "Not once. Not one second.

“I am completely fine here. I am in the right place and it's all good. Even the weather is better in Liverpool than in Manchester.

“I think Sir Alex has forgiven me. We have contact. He texts me. Sir Alex changes his telephone number quite frequently and I always get the new version. So that's a big honour. He texts me to say 'this is my new number' and I always think 'wow.'

“I have a really good relationship with Sir Alex, but on Sunday he wants Manchester United to win and I want Liverpool to win.”

Sunday's meeting with the two sides is a real top-of-the-table clash, with United first and Liverpool second heading into the weekend, and Klopp admitted he is happier being part of the chasing pack than the leaders.

“Both are pressure, because you either want to have something you don't have in the moment or if you're top you want a bigger lead or a bigger gap," he added.

“There is pressure on both. I find it easier to be the hunter, the chaser, the challenger if you want, but maybe that's because I wasn't in the other situation as often in my life.

"We will see. My players obviously deal with both situations pretty well so far and that is absolutely fine."

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