Jurgen Klopp says he has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group since his first day at the club.
Klopp was hired back in 2015 and has now won the Premier League title, following on from last season's Champions League triumph.
Opening up about his relationship with the club's American ownership group, Klopp said: "The relationship was exceptional from the first day.
"The first meeting was in New York [in 2015] that's true. But the first phone call with Mike [Gordon, the FSG president] was before that, three days before maybe, I don't know.
"I was still in bed! It was a nice day, I remember that, but I had nothing to do. I had time off and my phone started to ring.
"I knew that Mike, or someone from FSG, was going to call. I didn't know Mike at that point. But we had a one-hour talk on the phone. I obviously convinced him in a way that he wanted to meet in New York to bring the deal over the line. That's how it started.
"From that moment on, we had a very, very good relationship on a professional basis and a personal basis as well. With Mike, we work closely together – that's how it is. But it's Mike, Michael [Edwards, the sporting director] and myself. We pretty much are the transfer committee!
"They were my first owners, so I can't compare them. They are the best owners I ever worked with for sure! That's cool."
He added: "There is no problem if it doesn't happen, you don't need to have a personal relationship maybe in this business. But we have worked brilliantly together and we have a very good relationship. That makes it pretty special.
"First and foremost, they wanted to support us. Maybe not always at first with money but with a lot of trust and faith in the things we do. That was apparent from the first second. It was always clear.
"We finished eighth in 2016 – ninth would have been the worst ever, right? – but there was never doubt, not from that side. I'm pretty sure there was doubt from the outside. But from the owners' side, there was never. They wanted to give us time.
"They saw the little steps and that helped massively. We could make it, step-by-step."
