Pep Guardiola has spoken glowingly about his ‘incredible battles’ with Jurgen Klopp throughout their shared time in the Premier League.
The duo have won the last six titles between them and are both in the mix again this year along with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, with the Manchester City and Liverpool managers raising the bar for the standards required to become champions of England.
Even when the Reds secured 97 and 92 points in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons respectively, those were only good enough for second place, missing out by a solitary point to Guardiola’s side both times, although the Etihad Stadium outfit had no answer to our 99-point haul four years ago.
The City manager spoke to TNT Sports about his rivalry with Klopp over the past eight years, saying: “When I leave here, always I will remember the biggest rival and the incredible battles we had between each other.
“The five Premier Leagues that we won in the past six years, we were battling this unbelievable football club, an incredible manager and his incredible players. I will never forget those battles, never ever in my life.
“They have been my biggest rival in all my career. Everybody knows that Klopp and Liverpool made me a better manager. There is no doubt about that.”
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The two managers who’ve dominated English football since 2017 won’t meet again in charge of their current clubs, but they’ve served up some genuine classics among their 22 Liverpool v Man City clashes.
Guardiola’s admiration for Klopp is evident from these comments, and you can tell that he hugely respects how hard the German made him work for a few of the Premier League titles that he’s won at the Etihad, but it’s time for Jurgen to redress the balance a bit more before he departs Anfield next month!
You can view Guardiola’s comments on Klopp below (from 3:24), via TNT Sports on YouTube: