Speaking to former Reds striker Peter Crouch on a podcast released this week, the 58-year-old German reflected on his time at Anfield with characteristic warmth following last month's emotional return for the Liverpool Legends' 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund in aid of the LFC Foundation.
"I mean, we had a good time and nobody, I mean it, nobody has to say thank you to me," he said.
"Because I have to say thank you for the exact same reasons. I do it all the time when I see people: 'Oh thank you, for supporting us over the years.'"
The connection between Klopp and the Liverpool fanbase has always been something beyond the normal bond between manager and supporter. The legends match at the end of March drew a full house and the reception he received made clear that nothing has changed.
"Nobody can think back to these nine years without a smile on their face because it was just great," he said. "Everything about it, how connected we were."
He described seeing young supporters who were barely alive when he arrived in October 2015.
"Yesterday when I saw these kids at the Anfield Community Centre and they were 10 saying: 'I love you more than my dad!' And they were two or one or not even born when I arrived!"
Klopp, who now heads up global football at Red Bull and will work as a pundit for Magenta TV at the 2026 World Cup, also reflected on how the club's transformation required patience and time — something he was afforded in a way modern managers rarely are.
"In the beginning it took a while until we won a game," he said. "We drew at home to West Brom and celebrated like we'd won the world championship."
The players arrived piece by piece, funded by smart recruitment rather than unchecked spending.
"To win the Premier League, you need special players and we brought them in step by step, year by year, with money we earned from other transfers."
He allowed himself one moment of wistful regret — the brief window when Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah all shared a pitch.
"I would have loved to have played a full season with all of them together. We had a few games where it looked really good and I had an idea that it could work — and everyone knows what happened."
Coutinho departed for Barcelona in January 2018 before that version of Liverpool could fully express itself.
The legacy, though, is unquestioned. A first league title in 30 years, the Champions League, the Club World Cup — and a relationship with a city that shows no sign of fading.