Liverpool goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero has said his return to the club this summer felt like coming home again, 15 years on from his first stint on Merseyside.

Valero was part of Rafael Benitez's coaching team during his tenure at Anfield, but left in 2010 when the Spaniard departed.

Joining Liverpool is something that I think you are lucky to do once in your lifetime and to me it happened twice,” Valero told the club’s website, speaking in his first major interview since his appointment.

“So, it’s a double reason to be happy for me because I had fantastic years here in the past in my three seasons from 2007 until 2010.

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“I always thought it was the most special experience I had as a coach and then I’ve been lucky enough to join again in a different moment of the club, but it still has the same essence and passion.

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Valero has returned to a different club from the one he left in 2010

That was before FSG’s takeover and the myriad of changes the new ownership model has instilled, including a new training ground and an expanded Anfield.

“The club is much bigger, it has grown a lot since I left, but again, there is still that same essence, the same passion and the same targets: high standards, fighting for everything at one of the biggest clubs in the world,” the goalkeeping coach reflected.

“It always felt like coming back home every time I came back with a different club, and Anfield felt like coming back home when I was with the opposition

Now I can be again on the home bench, which is a privilege for me.

“But it’s been good to see at the training ground that many, many different people in different departments are still there from my first time here

It’s a nice feeling, and it feels like home again.”