Jurgen Klopp admits he was ‘surprised’ by Roberto Firmino’s Liverpool exit.
Firmino confirmed his intention to end an eight-year spell at Anfield last week when his existing contract expires at the end of the current campaign.
The Brazil international became not only an integral figure for the Reds in that time but also the most-used player throughout Klopp’s spell in management.
And the Liverpool boss revealed on Friday that news of Firmino’s departure still took him slightly aback when it was communicated by the player directly.
“Yes, he told me,” confirmed Klopp.
“Surprised? Yes, a little bit but I was not hit by surprise, actually it’s a normal thing to do.
“It could go two ways and it was one, and I respect that a lot.
“It’s completely normal in this kind of long relationship that we have and Bobby has with the club and with most of the players and stuff like this, and with the fans of course.
“It’s pretty special and I loved the reception he got when he came on against United.
“He told me and then the only other thing he said is, ‘Now I want to bring this wonderful story to a positive end.’ So, that’s it.
“He is completely here and completely committed, how everybody can imagine and that’s all we need to know.
“There’s no time for a goodbye or whatever in this moment, there’s enough time for that later in the season.
“Whenever he will come back, everybody knows that the song will still be for a long, long time in everybody’s ears I’m pretty sure.
“I think he’s one of these players that even when he would come with an opposition team, people would be really happy to see him.”