“I made Jurgen Klopp cry after deciding Manchester United were bigger than Liverpool”:Player reveals how he made Jurgen Klopp cried after snubbing him to joined Man United

Although there aren’t many Manchester United players that Jurgen Klopp would gush about, things were very different in 2013.

With an exciting Borussia Dortmund team that had dethroned Bayern Munich, the charismatic German was making waves in his native country long before he went on to infuriate United supporters by reclaiming the red half of Merseyside.

Robert Lewandowski’s offensive prowess was a key component of that squad, but Shinji Kagawa—the quiet playmaker who pulled the strings behind him—was perhaps even more influential.

Kagawa, a native of Kobe, Japan, began playing football at the age of five. He advanced through the local youth teams before Cerezo Osaka noticed his talent at the age of 17.

After spending four years at Cerezo, he became well-known in 2009 when he won the J League 2, his country’s second division of national football.

Dortmund was one team that saw his potential and acted quickly to trigger a €350,000 release clause in his contract, enabling him to leave the team without any questions in order to pursue a chance in Europe.

Using the money earned from Dortmund’s fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga and subsequent Europa League qualification, Klopp signed Kagawa to join players such as Lewandowski from Lech Poznan and Lukasz Piszczek from Hertha Berlin.

With Kagawa named in the league’s team of the season despite missing half the season due to injury, Dortmund raced to the Bundesliga title, making it the ideal match for an exciting young manager and his exciting young team.

After recovering from an injury, Kagawa led Dortmund to a second straight title and they also set a Bundesliga record for the most points in a single season. The following season was to be even better.

His most memorable performance was during the German Cup final, when Klopp’s team defeated Bayern 5-2 to complete a historic double, scoring a goal and providing an assist.

Kagawa was eager to advance in his career after winning back-to-back league titles, and his advisors had informed him that the Premier League was becoming more and more interested.

Ironically, while Arsenal and United were also expressing their feelings, it was Liverpool—the next team Klopp would manage—that was heavily linked to a move.

Though he made it plain he wouldn’t move to Old Trafford if he wasn’t going to be playing regularly, Kagawa knew who he would prefer among them all, as United continues to be the biggest team in Japan.

“Manchester United is bigger than Liverpool, Arsenal, and Dortmund,” was my initial thought, Kagawa said to The Athletic. Even though I was content at Dortmund, I waited for the offer because I truly wanted to play for Manchester United.

Also see “They are the pillars that hold Man United currently…they must add more consistency to their performances” : Erik ten Hag identifies three players who are currently holding Man United and issues a dire warning to them.
“I desired a face-to-face conversation with Ferguson. I wanted to know if Ferguson or United made the offer and if he desired me. I also asked to see where he thought I should play.

Ferguson and I met at an airport. He expressed his desires to me. Although he was hard to understand and I didn’t speak much English, the message was obvious. I had no doubts about my desire to play for United. Ferguson clarified that with me on the team, he wanted to win the league again. He desired for me to win an English championship as well.

Sir Alex Ferguson demanded an immediate response from the United board following the excruciating agony of losing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City in the final moments of the previous season.

A lot of supporters believe that it was Kagawa’s signing in the summer of 2012—shortly after Crewe native and young prospect Nick Powell—that would tip the scales back in favor of Old Trafford.

“Robin van Persie’s arrival was the biggest surprise,” he continued. “Everyone in the changing room was in awe.” We knew we were good because we had great players, but when Robin came in, he helped everyone up. We acquired him from a major rival, and he has been the top goal scorer in England. We were primed to win once more.

“In Manchester, the players performed better individually one-on-one. We were team players in Dortmund. It was more about individual talent in Manchester. We had some of the most well-known names on the planet. Giggs, Nani, Rooney, and Van Persie. Even though Scholes’s career was coming to an end, he remained at the top. We engaged in rondos. Scholes never lost the ball, so he was never in the middle. Never.

Giggs was almost forty years older than Scholes, but he was still quick and skilled. He carried himself with extreme professionalism. We also had Vidic, Evra, and Ferdinand. Three of the world’s greatest defenders.

Respect for Kagawa was reciprocated; the player made an impression on important members of the Old Trafford dressing room as soon as they learned that Ferguson was interested in the playmaker.

“I’m incredibly impressed. Rio Ferdinand stated, “I looked on YouTube and I’d seen him play for Dortmund on TV,” while on a preseason tour in Shanghai.

“He’s been excellent. He has excellent awareness, is quick and sharp, and plays with both feet. Playing with him and starting the season off excites me.

For the past few years, he has been among Germany’s best players. I believe he will help Manchester United maintain that form. He will be a fantastic addition, in my opinion.

However, there was initially a sense of cynicism surrounding the £17 million signing of Kagawa, with some detractors speculating that the player had only been brought in to capitalize on the club’s sizable Asian market.

Also see “Man United have just two good players and both are injured” : Paul Scholes identifies the two “quality” players for Manchester United. This season, Erik ten Hag is the most absent.
Then-commercial director Richard Arnold emphasized, “Our popularity in certain countries or regions may depend, at least in part, on fielding certain players from those countries or regions.”

“We don’t sign athletes to market t-shirts. We depend on 25 players, all of whom are enormous talents. There are 25 George Clooneys here.

When Kagawa scored his first goal in a preseason friendly against Shanghai Shenhua, it would undoubtedly help increase those merchandise sales. However, on the first day of the season, Ferguson would fully rely on the Japanese playmaker, starting him against Everton in a disappointing 1-0 loss.

The summer acquisition would start again for the club’s second home game despite the early setback, scoring his first goal in a competitive game the same day Van Persie scored his in a 3-2 victory over Fulham.

Regarding his debut, he remarked, “I was against Mousa Dembele, a very good and strong player.” “We won 3-2, but it was still difficult. As I was leaving, I wondered, ‘If it’s this hard to beat the weaker teams, what can I expect from the best?'” Recall that we had already dropped the season’s opening away match against Everton. I was playing the same role as (Marouane) Fellaini, another incredible player. I failed to score; he did.

In addition to starting six of United’s first seven games of the new campaign, Kagawa scored twice, assisted once, and set up two vital goals in his first two Champions League appearances.

He would sustain a nasty knee injury in the second game, a 3-2 victory over Braga at home, which would sideline him for two months and reverse the early gains he had been making in Manchester.

The Japan international observed how United picked up steam over the holiday season and started to exhibit tangible signs of their approaching Premier League title triumph with victories over Arsenal, Chelsea, and City.

Though Kagawa thought he would no longer be on the team, Ferguson stuck to his word, seeing the creative talent as essential to their chances of winning the English premier league.

The midfielder was back in the starting lineup following an injury, and his professional approach to training was winning over his legendary manager.

Ferguson said, “What’s really impressed me is that he’s never needed an explanation for any of the drills we do on the training ground.”

One demonstration later, he jumps right in as though he’s been speaking the language for ages. We are aware that he doesn’t speak the language, of course, but it isn’t an issue.

It merely goes to demonstrate that a skilled football player can discern exactly what is required. He’s been excellent in that regard. It surprised me to hear that.

Also see “He’s the best player in Premier League currently…He overshadowed me at Arsenal them I decided to leave” : The 19-year-old defender has now revealed the true cause of his January departure from Arsenal.
With three composed goals against Norwich at the start of March, Kagawa became the first Asian player to score a Premier League hat-trick, marking his defining moment in a United shirt.

The Japan international’s contribution to a 4-0 victory gave United an amazing 15-point advantage over rivals City. He also provided calmness to an attacking United team.

Kagawa would keep playing for United as the Premier League trophy got closer, participating in the whole of their title-winning 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.

With Kagawa a key member of that team, Ferguson delivered on his promise of winning the championship, and this time it was Van Persie who would grab the hat-trick.

Though it appeared to be the beginning of something special, the title parade quickly turned into a farewell tour as United’s brilliant and long-serving manager revealed his shocking retirement plans just two weeks later.

In Ferguson’s dramatic farewell game, a 5–5 draw away at West Brom, Kagawa would start and score for United while he watched his mentor depart after just one season together.

Similar to Van Persie, he was taken aback by the manager’s resignation after only a year of being promised long-term success, and he would suffer as a result under David Moyes’ leadership.

“I respected his decision, as it was his to tell us to our face,” Kagawa says. Sincerely. Given how long he had worked, I felt a little depressed. I had hoped to collaborate with him for many years, but everyone must occasionally stop.

There was a genuine feeling, shared by manager Klopp, that United hadn’t seen anything approaching Kagawa’s best, even following such a strong debut season in English football.

Dortmund had advanced to the Champions League final at Wembley against Bayern in their first season without their Japanese talisman. The German coach used his opportunity to address the English media to beg United to make the right use of Kagawa.

“One of the greatest players in the world, Shinji Kagawa currently plays left wing for Manchester United for 20 minutes,” stated Klopp.

My heart bleeds. I swear, tears are in my eyes. Shinji excels in central midfield. He’s an attacking midfielder with one of the sharpest goal senses I’ve ever seen. However, playing for Man United rather than Dortmund means more to the majority of Japanese people.

If Klopp was in tears following Kagawa’s debut season at Old Trafford, he would have been even more devastated upon Moyes’s replacement of Ferguson.

The former Everton manager had taken over a team that was going through a transition, but his own style of play—which prioritized hard-working players over raw attacking talent—did not help his cause.