Jurgen Klopp claims Mario Gotze was ‘unbelievable’. (Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp claims Mario Gotze was ‘unbelievable’. (Getty Images)

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has named Mario Gotze as the best player he’s ever managed.

Klopp was the man who gave Gotze his first-team debut at Borussia Dortmund in 2009.

And the midfielder repaid his manager’s faith by becoming a star performer in the Dortmund side which won back to back Bundesliga titles, as well as the DFB Pokal in 2012.

Gotze was sold to Bayern Munich in a £31.5 million deal the following season, while Klopp remained at Dortmund for another two years.

Speaking at a Q&A event with Soccer Laduma in Cape Town on Wednesday, Klopp was asked to name the best player he had coached.

‘Mario Gotze,’ replied the Liverpool manager.

‘He was unbelievable. The biggest improvement, though, was [Robert] Lewandowski.

Klopp and Gotze won back to back league titles with Dortmund. (Getty Images)
Klopp and Gotze won back to back league titles with Dortmund. (Getty Images)

‘I keep in contact with a lot of my Dortmund players.

‘They were young when I coached them, so I was like a father to them.

‘When I left Dortmund, it’s not so important what people think when you come, it’s more important what they think when you leave.’