Benitez: Klopp doesn't need my advice ahead of Champions League final

Rafa Benitez says he doesn’t have any advice for Jurgen Klopp ahead of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham on Saturday night – because the German is experienced enough.

Benitez was the last Liverpool manager to lift the trophy in 2005, while Klopp has lost the final twice – in 2013 with Borussia Dortmund, and last year’s Liverpool defeat to Real Madrid.

The Spaniard holds a great deal of affection for Liverpool and is hoping to see Jordan Henderson lift the trophy in Madrid, and he trusts in Klopp to get the job done.

Asked by the Liverpool Echo if he had any words of wisdom for Klopp, he said: “No! He has enough experience. He doesn't need any advice.

“It's just try to do things in the same way as you were doing because that's the reason why you are in the final.”

Benitez, now at Newcastle, has enjoyed watching Liverpool’s progress since Klopp took over at Anfield in 2015, a decade after he oversaw their miraculous comeback in Istanbul.

But after missing out in the Premier League title race this season and losing three cup finals in the past three seasons, pressure from outside the club is mounting for Klopp to turn progress into silverware.

Benitez isn’t worried about the lack of trophies, but he thinks that victory in Madrid could prove a springboard for further success.

“The first thing to say is that Jurgen has been doing really well,” he said.

“For me, that's very clear. It's another kind of challenge.

“In our time we didn't have the money that Liverpool have had in recent years.

“They have been improving the team and the squad. To win this final would be a massive achievement.

“Again I'd say it would give them more confidence and more belief and more power for the future because it will make them stronger.”

“Some people have said that maybe now they're favourites they will be over-confident but I don't think so. The experience of last year has to be more positive than negative.

“I am sure they will be capable of doing well. But I say it again, beating Tottenham won't be easy.”