Brendan Rodgers declined offers from England and China after being sacked by Liverpool in 2015

Brendan Rodgers says managing Liverpool was so “draining” he needed to take a break from football.

The Northern Irishman was two points away from "the holy grail" of winning the Premier League in 2014 as the Reds finished as runners-up, two points behind Manchester City, but was sacked 17 months later in what was his fourth season at Anfield.

Rodgers declined offers from England and China before agreeing to take charge of Celtic in May 2016, and he led the club to the treble in his first season in charge, going unbeaten in all domestic games.

I came as close as anyone there to the holy grail of winning the league. Brendan Rodgers on his time in charge of Liverpool

"When I came out of Liverpool, I needed a break," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.

"It was so intense. It was draining. We moved to London just to come away from it.

"I had offers from England and a couple from China where the money is very good, and that's tempting for a boy from Northern Ireland.

Rodgers won the treble with Celtic in his first season in charge

"But I had come out of one of the biggest institutions in the world and I had to find that pressure again. I've got that now.

"With Liverpool, you can go away from home and draw and that's okay. But Celtic, you have to win every game. It's a different pressure."

Rodgers failed to win a trophy with Liverpool but says it remains a special period of his career.

"I came as close as anyone there to the holy grail of winning the league," he said.

"That season, with the fans, it was special."