Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been looking ahead to what the future holds for Jurgen Klopp once he leaves Liverpool.
Klopp has had an incredible rivalry with Guardiola over his career at Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. The pair have regularly pushed each other on to greater heights, with strong mutual respect between them.
Following the German’s decision to move on from the Premier League at the end of the season, Pep will be shorn of a man he has described as being his greatest ever rival [The Guardian].
But looking into the future, TNT Sports asked the City boss whether he expects the two great coaches to lock horns once again.
“He will be back, I’m pretty sure!” smiled Guardiola. “Where, I don’t know if he knows it. But for football it would be good.
“He can rest a little bit, relax, take perspective. It’s true that when it’s every few days, season by season, it’s difficult to take perspective, what I’m doing, who we are and what I want in my life. Sometimes to take a break is really good and he’s going to decide what’s best.”
Guardiola looks into the future
As ever, Guardiola was gushing in his praise of both Liverpool and Klopp during this interview with TNT Sports.
Asked whether the outgoing Reds manager has helped he and his team achieve bigger things, Pep was unequivocal.
“Absolutely,” answered the Spaniard. “I’ve said many times, the measure of a our success is the measure of our rival. When our rival is not good enough, the success is not big enough.
“But competing with this Liverpool for many years, this is one of the biggest ones. We sometimes beat them, so it shows how good we have done. The same with them when they beat us.”
Guardiola is a manager who often tends to lavish praise on teams just after he’s dished out a big beating for them. It doesn’t always feel genuine.
But the way he speaks about Klopp’s Liverpool is absolutely the way he feels. The Reds have pushed them too hard, too often for it not to be the case.
That is obviously a real feather in the cap of Jurgen. He’d obviously swap any kind of begrudging respect for more trophies and medals, but he deserves immense credit for how hard he’s competed against the Man City juggernaught.
There’s still one more battle to come, with Pep rocking up at Anfield on March 10th. Time to go out with a bang, Jurgen.
Beyond that, Klopp has been tipped to take over the German national team. Maybe Guardiola will one day manage Spain. Jurgen vs Pep World Cup final 2030? We will be there.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
