Pep Guardiola has praised his coaching colleague Jürgen Klopp as the “best rival I have ever had” after his surprising announcement that he was leaving Liverpool FC. The 53-year-old Manchester City coach joked on Saturday that he would sleep better in the future if Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the season as announced. “Of course he will be missed. It was a shock for everyone,” said Guardiola about the 1-0 win in the FA Cup at Tottenham Hotspur.
However, the Spaniard does not believe in Klopp’s final farewell to professional football. “He won’t admit it, but he’ll be back. I know it.” It might only be in ten years, when Klopp has regenerated himself, possibly as coach of a national team, Guardiola speculated.
The two of them have been fighting exciting sporting duels with their teams for many years. First in the Bundesliga, when Guardiola was in the dugout at Bayern Munich and Klopp was still working for Borussia Dortmund. The two have been facing each other in the English Premier League for a good eight years. In 15 duels in the top English league, City emerged victorious five times, Liverpool won four times and the teams drew six times.
Marcus Erberich, Manchester Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 51 Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 47 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
Klopp (56) announced on Friday that he would resign as coach of Liverpool FC after this season. His contract with the Reds actually ran until mid-2026. The German coach justified this decision by saying that he was running out of energy.
