Son Heung-min confesses to Liverpool's top target, my worst mistake in life, failed to recruit SON, and such a mixed fate with Klopp, the best master

Sep 04, 2025

Son Heung-min confesses to Liverpool's top target, my worst mistake in life, failed to recruit SON, and such a mixed fate with Klopp, the best master
사진=The Football Community



If Liverpool had made the right decision, Son Heung-min would have met with manager Jurgen Klopp.

Ian Graham, who worked as a director at Liverpool in the past, appeared on the YouTube channel Man In Blazer on the 29th of last month (Korea time) and confessed that he almost recruited Son Heung-min. He said "If the rest of the world had unfolded, Son Heung-min and Roberto Firmino would have been at the forefront of Liverpool. Firmino and Son Heung-min were the top targets we wanted. But in the end, Son Heung-min transferred to Tottenham horribly, and Christian Benteke was recruited instead."

The player who decided to recruit Benteke, not Son Heung-min, was Brandon Rogers, who led Liverpool at the time. Graham said " (the two players) were of a different style. At the time, the director wanted that style. I loved Son Heung-min even at Tottenham", he explained.
Son Heung-min confesses to Liverpool's top target, my worst mistake in life, failed to recruit SON, and such a mixed fate with Klopp, the best master
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If Son Heung-min had headed to Liverpool at this time, a completely different world might have unfolded. It is highly likely that the triangle formation in Liverpool's heyday, which leads to Sadio Mane-Firmino-Mohamed Sala, has been reorganized into Son Heung-min-Firmino-Sala.




Benteke was recruited to Liverpool in the summer of 2015. It's the same time Son Heung-min headed to Tottenham, not Liverpool. Mane was recruited after one season. If Liverpool recruited Son Heung-min and Son Heung-min adapted well, it is highly likely that Mane, whose positions overlap, would not have been recruited.

As disappointing as Son Heung-min's failure to go to Liverpool is that he did not meet with Klopp twice. Klopp really thinks highly of Son Heung-min. Even before leaving Liverpool, Klopp said "One of the biggest mistakes of my life was not signing Son Heung-min" he once said. Even after he stepped down from his position as Liverpool head coach "He failed to recruit Son Heung-min from Tottenham. I think that's when Son Heung-min is in Hamburg. I don't even remember why I didn't recruit him."
Son Heung-min confesses to Liverpool's top target, my worst mistake in life, failed to recruit SON, and such a mixed fate with Klopp, the best master
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As Coach Klopp confessed, the first time Son Heung-min and Coach Klopp were crossed was when Son Heung-min was in Germany. When Son Heung-min emerged as the best supernova in the German Bundesliga in Hamburg, Klopp wanted to bring Son Heung-min flying when he met Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund actually showed a move, but Son Heung-min chose Bayer Leverkusen.

If Son Heung-min had moved to Liverpool, he would have met with Klopp, who was recruited after Rogers. Under Klopp, Son Heung-min is likely to have led Liverpool's heyday by taking charge of Salah and left and right wings.




Son Heung-min's career would have been quite different from now because Liverpool was reborn as the best team in Europe under Klopp. The Premier League and European Champions League trophies, not the Europa League (UEL) championship, could have been next to Son Heung-min.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.