Naby Keita's emotional reaction to 'dad' Jurgen Klopp's exit news

Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has revealed he welled up when heard that Jurgen Klopp is to leave the Reds at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old left Anfield at the end of last season upon expiry of his contract, having made 129 appearances across fives years – all under Klopp.

While the now Werder Bremen star endured a frustrating, injury-riddled time at Liverpool, he has fond memories of his manager – who he considers his 'dad'.

The news of Klopp's impending departure broke while Keita was away at the Africa Cup of Nations, with the midfielder's side Guinea reaching the quarter finals on Sunday.

Discussing the shock of his former boss' announcement, Keita told reporters (via RMC Sport): "I'm not on the [social] networks but when they told me, I had tears in my eyes. He took me to Liverpool as his son and I consider him my dad.

"I wish him the best for the rest of his life. I'll try to write to him afterwards. Such is life, I bumped into him and I wasn't disappointed. We got trophies."

Keita – who won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and League Cup under Klopp during his stint at Liverpool – came off the bench in the second half to help Guinea beat rivals Equatorial Guinea 1–0 to reach the last eight of AFCON on Sunday.

The midfielder is just one of a number of former players to pay tribute to the Liverpool boss. However, current Reds star Curtis Jones insists the team is just 'going with the flow' in the wake of the shock news.

"[We'll] Just carry on," Jones told ITV before the FA Cup fourth-round win over Norwich. "We have our goals that we've set and stuff, so nothing has changed.

"Of course it's sad for the whole of the club. But he's a man [as well as a manager] and that's his choice so we respect that.

"We'll just go with the flow."