Robert Lewandowski: Bayern Munich forward says Jurgen Klopp ‘released the striker’s instinct in me’ while at Borussia Dortmund

Robert Lewandowski will always be thankful for how Jurgen Klopp helped him during his career.

Klopp brought the striker to Germany when he signed him for Borussia Dortmund from Lech Poznan in 2010.

He enjoyed a prolific four-season spell at Dortmund where he scored 103 goals in 187 games, won two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup and came runner-up in the Champions League.

Lewandowski then left Klopp, and Dortmund, for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, where he has gone on to win four consecutive league titles.

The 30-year-old will face his former manager at Anfield as Bayern take on Liverpool in the first leg of the last-16 of the Champions League.

And he had nothing but good words to say about Klopp.

In an interview with UEFA.com, Lewandowski said: “He made a huge impact on my career. I have to be thankful to him because of what we did together at Dortmund.

“We grew together and it’s led me to where I am today. He’s a great coach and a great person. I learned a lot from him.

“He’s released that striker’s instinct in me and that allowed me to make the next step. I didn’t know that I still had so much potential, more than I thought, and that means he saw something in me that I couldn’t see.”