Ousmane Dembele has revealed that Liverpool made a last-ditch attempt to sign him.
The attacker joined Borussia Dortmund from Rennes last summer despite interest from the Reds as well as Premier League champions Leicester City.
Jurgen Klopp attempted to snare Dembele from under his former club’s noses and arranged to meet the 19-year-old in his native France in a bid to seal a deal.
But the player insists that he had already opted to join the Bundesliga giants.
“I saw Klopp in Paris,” Dembele told FourFourTwo.
“But I told him I had made up my mind to sign for Dortmund.
“I told Claudio Ranieri the same thing.”
Dembele’s new team mate Christian Pulisic was also pursued by Klopp, who worked with him during his time in charge at Signal Iduna Park in 2015.
But the USA international has rebuffed talk of a move to Liverpool despite an £11 million bid being rejected.
He said: “I have respect for Klopp and I know him – he was very welcoming to me here.
“But I was never really thinking about going to Liverpool.
“Dortmund have given me everything. If I work very hard here I will play and I love this club.”