Jürgen Klopp today recalled the pride he felt when meeting Ronnie Moran at Melwood last year as he paid a tribute to the Liverpool legend following his passing on Wednesday morning.

The Reds boss, first-team staff and members of the squad held a minute of silence and reflection ahead of their first training session at the club’s Tenerife base earlier today.

Afterwards, Klopp explained why it was important for the team to pay their respects to Moran’s life and Liverpool legacy.

He said: “It’s a sad day. I had the honour of meeting him last year around the League Cup final. Obviously I am not from Liverpool, I am not from England, and so I needed a little bit of help but when I heard about this very special story then it was really nice to meet him. It was a big honour for me.

“Today is a very sad day for all of us. All of our thoughts and all of our love are with the family.

“We tried to pay our respects like a football club should do for a real member of the club, a real figure of the club, with a minute of silence.

“It was impressive because the players were immediately in the mood; all of them have heard about him and that shows how special his relationship with this great club was.”

Moran’s Liverpool connection spanned 49 years, during which time he occupied a variety of roles from player to coach to caretaker manager.

And some 13 league championships, four European Cups, two UEFA Cups, five FA Cups and five League Cups were acquired by the Reds during that time.

Klopp added: “You will not have this a lot of times. It’s nice and it shows what a big value this is because it’s so rare. Maybe more of us should try to be like him – and in him we had the perfect role model.

“I am sure nobody can, or will, forget him. It’s a sad day, but on the other hand it is a day where everybody thinks about him and thinks about his very, very special story.”