Henrikh Mkhitaryan has admitted that he became a recluse during a "disaster" season at Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp.

The Armenian now plies his trade at Manchester United, but before joining the Red Devils this year, Mkhitaryan was a vital member of the Bundesliga giants.

Well, he was last season when he scored 11 goals and bagged 20 assists under manager Thomas Tuchel, but in Klopp's final campaign at the Westfalenstadion the 27-year-old struggled.

In his first season at the club, Mkhitaryan scored nine goals and registered 10 assists, proving to be a decent replacement for Mario Gotze, who flitted off to Bayern Munich in 2013.

In the following campaign it was a different story as the attacker managed just three goals and had to deal with a relegation battle. Writing for The Players' Tribune, Mkhitaryan said:

"It was a very hard period for me. The first season was OK, but the second season was a disaster, not only for me, but also for the club.

"We were losing so much, and I felt like I was having no luck. Not only was I not scoring, but I was not assisting, which is very unlike me. I had been signed for a lot of money, and I put a lot of pressure on myself.

"I had many hard nights in my apartment in Dortmund, all alone, just thinking and thinking. I didn’t want to go outside, even to have dinner.”

At the end of that season, Klopp walked away from Dortmund and five months later became Liverpool manager.

Mkhitaryan is just a short trip down the motorway from his former boss, but he has another manager to impress as Jose Mourinho has used the player sparingly at Manchester United this season.

The Armenian has made eight appearances in all competitions so far, and has started just one Premier League game.

[ad_pod id='playwire' align='center']