Jurgen Klopp ‘cried on the phone’ when told he couldn’t sign former Tottenham Hotspur flop

Jurgen Klopp ‘cried on the phone’ when told he wasn’t able to sign former Tottenham Hotspur flop Kevin Prince-Boateng.

Back in 2007, Prince-Boateng moved from Hertha BSC to Premier League side Spurs in a deal worth a reported £5.4 million.

However, his first spell in England was tough as he failed to impress. In 2009, the midfielder was shipped out to Borussia Dortmund on loan.

Under Klopp, Prince-Boateng made 10 Bundesliga appearances as he played a part in helping Dortmund finish in sixth place.

As a result, Klopp wanted to sign Prince-Boateng on a permanent deal but Dortmund’s financial position made the transfer impossible.

Prince-Boateng ended up joining Portsmouth after leaving Spurs.

Recalling his time with Dortmund, Prince-Boateng told Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast(via Liverpool Echo): “When they announced that I come to Dortmund, they [fans] criticised the club, like: 'Why [are] you bringing that guy? He's crazy. Did you see what he did in Tottenham?’”

The 36-year-old recalled what Klopp said during the press conference: “'I brought him here, I will make him the player he is'. He said Prince Boateng has a book of 1,000 pages and each page is different, that's how good he is.

“I said I will give my life for him. Every player would die for him on the pitch because he gives you that feeling of confidence, that feeling of love as well.

Getty

“Whatever you do, if you do a mistake, he's going to be there. I needed that guy who was going to believe in me because after Martin Jol and Juande Ramos, no-one believed in me. I didn't believe in myself - I just gave up.”

Prince-Boateng continued: “I had like six, seven pounds [of weight] more. So he gave me that feeling, so I came [there] and performed.

“It didn't work out. He called me personally and said we can't buy you, we don't have the money. We both cried on the phone. Like really cried. We had a very good relationship.”

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.