Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits he left Borussia Dortmund early so to prevent them missing out on Thomas Tuchel.

Klopp wanted Tuchel to succeed him when leaving for Liverpool in 2015.

"I can still remember the reason for the timing at the time was that Thomas Tuchel was about to go to HSV," he told the WDR podcast.

"Wait a minute. Tuchel goes to HSV? Then we have to get out of it now. That was why it was a little earlier than planned.

"Internally we pushed it a little earlier, so that they could speak to Thomas early, whom I consider an exceptional trainer."

Tuchel followed Klopp from Mainz to Dortmund before landing the job at PSG.