Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has expressed his regret at failing to sign Son Heung-min.
The South Korea international, 30, has established himself as one of the best forwards in the Premier League since he joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015. Son has scored 96 goals and provided 54 assists in 245 games in the division - sharing the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah last season.
During his time in charge of Borussia Dortmund, Klopp was interested in signing Son from Bundesliga rivals Hamburger in the summer of 2013. Yet he joined Leverkusen instead before thwarting Klopp on several occasions in both the Bundesliga and Premier League.
"One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min," Klopp told KBS News. "He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world."
Klopp's Dortmund were one of the best teams in Europe when they attempted to sign Son, then aged 20. They had recently won back-to-back Bundesliga titles and narrowly lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich at Wembley in May 2013.
Son impressed during the 2012/13 campaign at Hamburger to put him in the shop window, scoring 12 goals in 33 Bundesliga games. Yet he rejected Dortmund to join Leverkusen because he believed he had more chance of playing regularly at the Bay Arena.
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"I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga and Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me," said Son at the time. "Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen. That's why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It's really important to play regularly at my age.
"Any player would want to play in the big games in the Champions League. I know there will still be plenty of competition at Leverkusen and I will prepare for the season well and try to put in good performances when it begins."
As for signing Son for Liverpool, Klopp arrived on Merseyside too late. The German was appointed by the Reds in October 2015 - just two months after Tottenham snapped him up. Since then, no club has managed to lure the world-class star away from North London.
South Korea fans are waiting anxiously to find out if Son will be fit for the World Cup. The experienced international suffered an eye injury in Tottenham's Champions League win against Marseille earlier this month and recently underwent surgery to fix the issue.
Speaking after Sunday's 2-1 home loss to Liverpool, Tottenham boss Antonio Conte told reporters he was "confident" Son would be fit in time for the tournament in Qatar. South Korea's first group game is against South Korea in 15 days' time.
On Son's injury, Klopp added: "From what I hear, he's in good shape. Maybe if Son Heung-min plays in the World Cup wearing a mask, there will be no problem."
