Jurgen Klopp could have been pumping his fists and screaming instructions at his players on the touchline at Old Trafford rather than Anfield if Manchester United's approach for the German in 2014 was a little bit 'sexier'.
This has come to public knowledge as the Dail Mail are serialising a new biography written about Klopp's career by Raphael Honigstein titled 'Bring The Noise', and among other things it does not reflect well on Man Utd executive vice president Ed Woodward.
The much-maligned Woodward has been the butt of the joke many times in the past as stories of his unusual methods in the transfer market and interactions with managers dominate the search results if you google his name, but the latest - his "pitch" to Jurgen Klopp to become Man Utd manager - may be the most puzzling yet.
Apparently, Woodward visited Klopp in Germany to discuss taking over from David Moyes, but instead put the then Dortmund manager off by describing Old Trafford as 'like an adult version of Disneyland'.
Not long before, Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward had flown out to see Klopp in Germany. David Moyes's short tenure at Old Trafford was coming to an end, and Klopp was United's favourite to replace him, to bring back a sense of adventure to the Red Devils' game.
Woodward told Klopp that the Theatre of Dreams was 'like an adult version of Disneyland', a mythical place where, as the nickname suggested, the entertainment was world class and dreams came true.
Klopp wasn't entirely convinced by that sales pitch — he found it a bit 'unsexy', he told a friend — but he didn't dismiss the proposition out of hand either. After almost six years in the job at Dortmund, perhaps the time was ripe for a change of scenery.
If true, it furthers the belief that Woodward was out of his depth when handed a position of such importance, but thankfully for fans of the club things appear to have become less farcical as he has gained experience.
The whole idea of 'selling', and creating a presentation, one of the most famous teams in all of sports to a manager who had not yet proven himself outside of the Bundesliga is odd, but to do it in such a manner as described is another league of baffling.
Klopp, obviously, turned the offer down and the rest, as they say, is history.
You can read more from the excerpt from Klopp's new biography on DailyMail.co.uk.
