Jurgen Klopp has revealed he briefly thought about not answering the phone call that led to him becoming Liverpool's manager five years ago.
The German is celebrating half a decade at Anfield this month that has seen him lead the Reds to the Premier League and Champions League titles.
Klopp has overseen a major transformation, leading the club back to the summit of European and domestic football with a squad littered with some of the world's best players.
But, as Klopp celebrates five years on Merseyside, he has now revealed he thought about ignoring the call from his agent to tell him Liverpool were interested because he was soaking up the sun on holiday in Portugal with his family.
'I cannot forget the moment when I got the call from my agent that Liverpool is interested. And the feeling I had in that moment,' Klopp told the club's official website.
'I said it a couple of times, I was completely in a holiday mood; we were in Portugal, in Lisbon, with the family, both boys were with us. Ulla and I were sitting in an outside coffee bar.
'Actually I didn't take a lot of phone calls in that time, it was like: "Come on, don't bother me". But then I saw it and it was like I had a feeling it could be something interesting. So I take the phone and he tells me, and I felt the excitement inside.
'But because of all the things I said before to my family, I couldn't immediately say: "Yes! Let's do it!" I had to ask: "What's your opinion?" I still remember both boys were like: "Yes!" We look at Ulla and she looked at all three of us: "Oh, it looks like the holiday is over!"
'It was just a really nice moment to have it together. There was nothing decided in that moment, it was not that I spoke to anybody else. We flew home, Mike Gordon called me then two days later, one day later, whatever. Then I flew over to New York and all that stuff.
'But this very first moment when I got aware of the interest of Liverpool was already pretty special. And from that moment on it got better and better.'
Klopp committed his future to the club in December 2019, signing a contract extension that will keep him at the helm until 2024.
Should Klopp get to 2024, he will become the longest serving Liverpool manager since Bob Paisley, who was in charge from 1974 to 1983.
After delivering major pieces of silverware in his first five years at the club, Klopp is now focused on retaining the Premier League.
Liverpool have nine points from their first four games of the new season but were thumped 7-2 by Aston Villa last time out.
The Reds are back in action after the international break on October 17 with a trip to Merseyside rivals Everton.
emabkr42
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Ignore or what, he still the best manager in the world