Jurgen Klopp has revealed what he told his heartbroken teammates following Saturday’s Champions League final.
Liverpool’s season came to an end with a 1-0 defeat over Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Paris.
Vinicius Jr’s second-half goal was enough to give Madrid their 14th European Cup, leaving Liverpool with only the FA Cup and Carabao Cup to show for their efforts.
Klopp claimed after the loss that he used his post-match team talk to convey his pride in his players following a season in which they played in every conceivable match.
“We played a good game but when you lose 1-0 you have to admit that it was not good enough,” Klopp told BBC Sport.
“I told the boys in the dressing room, after watching the celebrations of Real Madrid, that I feel the pride already.
“But I saw as well that I was the only one in the dressing room who felt that, so the boys need a little bit longer.”
It was a disappointing finale to the season for Liverpool, who also did miss out on the Premier League title by a single point to champions Manchester City.
Klopp, on the other hand, is sure that his team will bounce back next season and stage another genuine campaign for big hardware.
“These boys played an outstanding season,” Klopp added.
“The two competitions we didn’t win were by the smallest margin – one point, 1-0.
“City were one point better and Madrid were one goal better, that says nothing about us.
“This is a fantastic group and we will go again.”
