Robbie Fowler believes Liverpool's Champions League victory will lead to more silverware under manager Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup/Champions League title by defeating Premier League rivals Tottenham 2-0 at Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah and substitute Divock Origi were on target as Liverpool – who finished a point adrift of Manchester City in the league – won their maiden trophy under Klopp and first since 2011-12.
Reds great Fowler – winner of the UEFA Cup, Super Cup, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his time on Merseyside – backed Klopp's men to enjoy further success.
"Liverpool are well and truly back on the world stage, it will only snowball, and grow even more," Fowler wrote for the Mirror. "Taking that step, getting over the line for the first time with a real piece of silverware is massive. It's the process all sides must go through, a fundamental experience on the path to being an elite-level side.
"People look at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, and they see the cabinet full of silverware as confirmation they were always winners. But they had to lose the title, painfully, before they got over the line. Liverpool have been the same.
"They are a growing team, a young team that is still learning and still lacks experience. You could see that in the nerves they clearly displayed in what was a poor first half.
"Their inexperience told last year in the final. Real Madrid just had too much knowledge for them in the end. Once Mo Salah was injured, they didn't have the experience to deal with it.
"It's a process. A painful one at times. Yet they came back. They came all the way to Madrid, for another Champions League final, and another step on the way. A step that takes them into that group at the very summit of the world game."
"Liverpool have a side that is already at the top, and will only get better," Fowler continued. "The prospect is slightly frightening. They've finished second with 97 points, swept the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona aside to get back into the final and are still nowhere near the height of their potential. Winning a trophy unlocks that potential."
Fowler – now head coach of A-League side Brisbane Roar – added: "When Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005, when we lost it in 2007, I don't think there was quite the sense that the club was on the verge of something like it is now. With Jurgen Klopp there for at least three more years and none of his stars likely to leave, they will grow, no doubt."