Footage has emerged of Jurgen Klopp watching Jude Bellingham's last-minute winner for Real Madrid in the Champions League, and his reaction speaks volumes.
Bellingham netted his sixth goal in six appearances for his new club on Wednesday, arriving on queue during stoppage time to become Carlo Ancelotti's hero once again at the Bernabeu, as they beat Union Berlin 1-0.
Liverpool were originally keen to sign the 20-year-old midfielder during the summer, but Klopp decided to withdraw from the race due to the extortionate transfer fees involved.
Real Madrid then came knocking and Bellingham simply couldn't say no, leaving plenty of Liverpool fans with their head in their hands.
Advert
Klopp has since been shown a clip of Bellingham's latest goal for Los Blancos during a press conference, and the Reds boss appeared slightly deflated, quietly chuckling while muttering: "Bellingham," before shaking his head with a smile.
It is not yet clear whether the German was merely happy for the youngster, or if he was struggling to hide his disappointment that the Englishman wasn't wearing a red shirt, instead.
Speaking on Wednesday, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher tipped Bellingham to move to Liverpool later in his career - a suggestion which was promptly shut down by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
Meanwhile, Bellingham spoke glowingly of his new life in the Spanish capital, explaining: “It’s even more special than I thought. I get goosebumps just talking about it now. I’m just so grateful to be at this club.
"I talk about the staff and the players but there is the fans as well who as you arrive to the stadium are there in their thousands just to get a glimpse of the bus and then they are there before the warm-up.
“You don’t really understand how big this club is until you are here.”
Discussing his impressive goal return, he explained: “It was just that mentality that we have shown all season that even if there are setbacks we just keep going until the end and I always believe there will be chances and it is just about being in the right position to take them.”
SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here HERE for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.
Topics: Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, Champions League
Joe Adams