Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has revealed that he held talks with Liverpool when Brendan Rodgers was still at the helm at Anfield.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan lined up for Manchester United against Liverpool in the 1-1 draw between the two fierce rivals at Old Trafford, but the Armenian has stunningly revealed how it could easily have been the other way around.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Manchester United star Mkhitaryan divulged that he spoke multiple times with then Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers in 2013, before rejecting an Anfield move in favour of his eventual transfer to Borussia Dortmund from Shakhtar Donetsk.
He said: “I spoke two or three times on the phone to [Liverpool manager] Brendan Rodgers, he was saying he really wanted me and that I’d get to play with Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard.”
Mkhitaryan, however, said that he had doubts over his ability to meet the physical demands of the Premier League, thus choosing to move to the Westfalenstadion instead.
He added: “Half of me thought I had to go there, the other half was not so confident, that the gap to the Premier League might be too big for a skinny player from the Ukrainian League.
“Two weeks later, Jurgen Klopp broke off his holiday on an island next to Denmark to come and see me in Dortmund. I knew he had a good reputation for working with younger players and, after we met, I felt more comfortable to sign for Dortmund. I think I made the right decision.”
Mkhitaryan sealed a £26.3 million move to Manchester United in the summer after three successful seasons at Borussia Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga Player’s Player Of The Year last season for his 11 goals and 15 assists in the German top flight.
However Mkhitaryan endured a difficult start to life as a Manchester United player, as he turned in a highly underwhelming performance in his full competitive debut for the club back in September in the Red Devils’ 2-1 loss to arch city rivals Manchester City.
Post the horrific debut, Mkhitaryan struggled to find a place in the Manchester United first team setup for more than two months, as he battled fitness and injury issues on the sidelines and vowed to fight for his place, before finally earning his second start for the club late in November.
Since then, the Armenian has turned his Old Trafford career around, scoring a vital goal against Tottenham Hotspur before turning on the style with his stunning scorpion kick goal against Sunderland last month.
He is now one of the first names on Jose Mourinho’s team sheet, and is one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League with his dazzling runs, smart change of pace and ingenious creativity. Manchester United fans must be heaving a huge sigh of relief that their midfielder didn’t choose to move to Merseyside when he had the chance to.
