“That really broke the ice” – Wijnaldum’s quote about Jurgen Klopp wearing Cristiano Ronaldo underwear ahead of Liverpool’s 2018 final against Real Madrid resurfaces
Former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has revealed that Jurgen Klopp wore Cristiano Ronaldo branded underwear ahead of his side's Champions League final with Real Madrid in 2018.
The two European heavyweights are set to clash again on Saturday evening (May 29th) in Paris. The Reds lost in their previous meeting against Real Madrid in the final. It ended a 3-1 in Kyiv thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.
ON THIS DAY IN 2018: Gareth Bale scored one of the greatest goals in Champions League history. 
@ChampionsLeague📅 ON THIS DAY IN 2018: Gareth Bale scored one of the greatest goals in Champions League history.
This Saturday Liverpool and Real Madrid meet in the final once again!
📹 @ChampionsLeague
https://t.co/Ud5VHght0F
The encounter in the Ukrainian capital was Ronaldo's final game for Real Madrid before he moved to Juventus that summer. Wijnaldum has discussed the light-hearted joke that Liverpool boss Klopp had to calm the nerves amongst his squad.
The now PSG midfielder told The Athletic:
“We saw he was wearing the boxer shorts of Cristiano Ronaldo. That really broke the ice. Usually in those situations, everyone is serious and concentrated. But he was relaxed and made this joke.
“He’s done hundreds of jokes likes that. If you see that your manager is really confident and relaxed, it will have an effect on players. He is a father figure in those things for the players. With his jokes and his body language, he takes the pressure off players.”
PSG fans slandering Wijnaldum but he has something they will never have. https://t.co/tCfGDbKLcT
Liverpool boss Klopp determined to avenge Kyiv defeat to Ronaldo's Real Madrid
The 2018 triumph was Madrid's 13th and most recent in the competition. It was a game famous for a nasty injury to Mohamed Salah after colliding with Sergio Ramos, two howlers from Reds keeper Loris Karius and Gareth Bale's overhead kick.
Despite the setback, the Merseyside club would go on to claim their sixth European crown the following season with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the final.
However, Klopp is determined to make up for that night in Kyiv, as he told UEFA.com:
"We played them; we lost. What kind of reaction would you want to show for yourself? The fun part of it is, we played against Madrid in Kyiv [in 2018], we won it in Madrid [in 2019]; it was a different stadium and now we play Madrid again. So, obviously, when we are in a Champions League final, Madrid is always somehow involved.
"There's the feeling that we want to put things right, definitely, but it cannot be the main thought. If we go there like, 'Revenge! Payback!' all these kinds of things, it doesn't work like that. That's not us. We came here to the final in a different way. So, we have to play our way and that's what we have to try."
Jurgen Klopp has been named Premier League Manager of the Season 🏆 https://t.co/Hwj8HxzOPf