Divock Origi, Liverpool’s reserve striker, has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Manchester United as a teenager. The young Belgian came to the spotlight while at Lille, scoring a winner for Les Diables Rouges in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, although the Red Devils from Manchester tried to pry him away from Lille’s academy as a 15-year-old.
With the historic European clash between Liverpool and Manchester United set to take place on March 10th, Origi was speaking to The Guardian about his association with his opponents. In the summer of 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson made an offer to sign Origi from Lille’s academy, but the Belgian turned it down opting to stay with Lille.
The Liverpool striker, who has yet to nail a first team spot, regrets nothing, saying “It was just a decision of my heart. At that moment, I wanted to be a product of the Lille academy. I had just seen Eden Hazard come through and Lille had players like Gervinho and Joe Cole in the first team, so I thought I would have a good chance of making it there.”
“I thought I would have the chance to get through at Lille, and so I said no to Manchester United. At that moment, I was 15 years old. I didn't have anything against United or any other team. In fact, my dream was to play in the Premier League one day, but my heart said that I had to go through at Lille.”
Klopp tried to sign Origi while at Dortmund
Origi become a highly sought after striker after scoring Belgium’s winner against Russia in the World Cup and revealed that he turned down offers from multiple German clubs, including one from a Jurgen Klopp-led Borussia Dortmund. The Belgian revealed his reasoning, saying “I knew they were interested but Liverpool were very keen and I had made up my mind by then.”
However, as fate turned out, Klopp finally has his target and Origi is confident of thriving, saying “The manager gives me chances, he has a lot of experience working with young players and I try to maximise all the time I get. That is my target for the rest of the season, to maximise my game time. And of course to score goals and do well against Manchester United.”
Like many others, Origi cannot wait for the first European clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, saying “It is always special to play Manchester United. I came into the Liverpool team for the first time in the away game in September and I am very motivated and excited for the next match. We are ready for the fight. I believe we can go far in this tournament.”
