Leon Goretzka Reveals Liverpool Snub Ahead of Bayern Munich Move
By Tom Gott
Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka has revealed that he rejected the chance to move to Liverpool in 2018 in favour of sealing a switch to the German giants.
Goretzka was seen as one of Europe's most exciting young midfielders at the time, and with his contract at Schalke expiring, there were no shortage of sides interested in securing his services for free.
In the end, it was Bayern who won the race for his signature, and Goretzka confessed to The Athletic that he had no regrets about passing up on the chance to link up with Jurgen Klopp.
"[Liverpool] were a consideration, of course,” he said. “They’re a great club, and their development since Kloppo came has been amazing. We’re all a little proud of him winning the title. But I took a long time making my decision, and I was 100% sure that Bayern was the right move for me.”
The last two years have been good to Goretzka, who has won two Bundesliga titles and one Champions League while also quadrupling in size thanks to his ridiculous gym routine.
“Nobody knew what was happening and we had a lot of time to think," Goretzka said of his time in lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak. "I asked myself, 'what can I do to develop further as a human being?' It was an opportunity to take stock, listen to the voice inside of you and redefine your goals.
“The extra muscle is only the most visible part of that. Not playing gave me a chance to do work on the body in a way you can’t do under normal circumstances, as you’d need two or three days to recover.
"It makes sense to recharge your batteries during breaks but I’m a firm believer that you get more power from working harder. And that’s the result right now.”
As for Liverpool, they declined to sign a direct alternative that summer. Naby Keita made his long-awaited switch from RB Leipzig, but most of the Reds' money went on signing goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Fabinho from Roma and Monaco respectively.
It worked out pretty well for them too, as Liverpool won the 2018/19 Champions League before lifting the Premier League title last season. Everyone's a winner.