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Jurgen Klopp admitted he was too embarrassed to ask one of his players' names after failing to recognise him(Image: Getty Images)

Former Liverpool defender Brad Smith holds no ill will towards Jurgen Klopp despite being sold by the German.

Klopp, 58, was at Anfield for barely six months before Smith's eight-year stay on Merseyside was brought to an end.

The left-back, 31, had barely featured under Klopp's predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, since graduating from Liverpool's academy.



And although it was Klopp who finally handed him his real first-team breakthrough, their relationship didn't get off to the smoothest of starts.

The Reds' squad in late 2015 was dotted with talent, but not nearly the number Klopp sought as he looked to break a barren cycle without silverware.

And Smith was seemingly among the more anonymous players when he first arrived.

"We played in Sion on a frozen pitch [in December 2015]," Klopp told The Telegraph last year as he looked back upon his time at Anfield.

He later flew home from Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States to join Bournemouth, but he remains indebted to his old boss.

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"Every time I go back there with Bournemouth he’ll give me a big Klopp hug and we’ll have a little chat," said Smith in 2019.

He just said, ‘I think it’s your time to go out and spread your wings and do what you need to do.' I owe a lot to Klopp for kind of bringing me back in and giving me a chance.