Robin van Persie said Jurgen Klopp gave him some morale-boosting words during his time at Arsenal which have stuck with him throughout his career.
The Dutch forward, who recently retired at the age of 35, was playing for the Gunners against the then Jurgen Klopp-managed Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in 2011 when the German coach singled him out for praise.
Van Persie scored the opening goal in the 1-1 draw, but it was his versatility which apparently impressed Klopp so much.
“Jurgen Klopp has given me the nicest of compliments, saying ‘I’ve never seen a player playing in three positions at the same time,” van Persie said.
“I fell back in the game, went on the wings, was in front.
“The team adapted to my playing style, they’ve played for me so that’s the only reason I scored the goal and delivered an outstanding performance.”
And the respect appears to be mutual, with van Persie saying he is a huge fan of the playing style Klopp implements at his clubs.
“They play with four at the back and before that two blocks of three and those two blocks constantly cover each other at the back," he continued.
"It’s nice to see how that works together, there must be heaps of work, there is no other way.
“They have to trust each other, those players. If one goes, the others must be at his back, and another at his back.
“For Klopp, it must also be cool to see that his philosophy is really in that team."
As an ex-Arsenal player, van Persie will most likely be supporting Liverpool in their Champions League final against the Gunners' bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
He decided to hang up his boots after a final season at his boyhood club Feyenoord, where he scored 18 goals in 31 appearances during the 2018/2019 season.
