Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has revealed that he rejected advances from Liverpool in a bid to complete a move to Borussia Dortmund in 2013. The Armenian international was signed by Jurgen Klopp and played an impressive part for the German club before moving to the Premier League with the Red Devils.

The midfielder is likely to line-up against Klopp's team when Liverpool travel to old Trafford for the reverse fixture, after having missed the last game due to injury. It was a near miss for Liverpool with Brendan Rodgers in charge, who went perilously close to winning the league title that season, with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge providing fireworks up front.

The Reds are currently five points ahead of United and a win here will help them close the gap on Chelsea, who have surged ahead of the duo after a comfortable win over Leicester City. Mkhitaryan has scored four goals and assisted three in 17 appearances thus far and insists that he had made the right choice by moving to the German side.

The 27-year-old spent three impressive seasons in Dortmund before moving to the Premier League and took centre stage with a few brilliant goals last month.

"I spoke two or three times on the phone to Rodgers, he was saying he really wanted me and that I would get to play with Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard," Mkhitaryan told the Daily Mail.

"Half of me thought I had to go there, the other half was not so confident, that the gap to the Premier League might be too big for a skinny player from the Ukrainian League.

"Two weeks later, Klopp broke off his holiday on an island next to Denmark to come and see me in Dortmund. I knew he had a good reputation for working with younger players and, after we met, I felt more comfortable to sign for Dortmund. I think I made the right decision," he added.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan stunned onlookers with his brilliant effort against Sunderland Jan Kruger/Getty Images

"Two weeks later, Klopp broke off his holiday on an island next to Denmark to come and see me in Dortmund. I knew he had a good reputation for working with younger players and, after we met, I felt more comfortable to sign for Dortmund. I think I made the right decision."