Jurgen Klopp admits he can't understand why Real Madrid supporters do not love Gareth Bale following his efforts for the club.
The Welshman's career with the Spanish giants comes to an end this summer, with Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Los Blancos set to be his final chance to turn out for Carlo Ancelotti's men before being released.
Bale's impact has been limited in recent seasons due to a combination of injuries and a lack of faith from club bosses in the Spanish capital. Despite playing just 20 minutes of football for Real Madrid since starring for Wales in their 2-1 World Cup play-off semi-final win over Austria in March, Bale has been included in Real Madrid's matchday squad for Saturday's European showpiece in Paris.
Bale scored one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition in the 2018 final as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv. It was the Wales star's fourth Champions League success, although the game was famously remembered for Loris Karius's pair of mistakes which ultimately gifted victory to the Spaniards.
And following Bale's exploits in the final four years ago, Klopp admits he struggles to understand why the former Southampton and Tottenham isn't appreciated more by Madridistas.
"People in Madrid don’t love him?" he said on BT Sport. "I would love him only for this goal to be honest if I was a Madrid fan. I cannot believe that.
"We all know what happened, we don’t have to make this story bigger. It was of course a tragic situation 100%. Loris Karius is a really, really good boy and that night didn’t help."
The final between Real Madrid and Liverpool gets underway at 8pm on Saturday, May 28.
