Pep Guardiola has shared that Jurgen Klopp, soon to depart as Liverpool manager, has been his most formidable adversary throughout his career.
In a video message delivered this morning, Klopp emotionally announced his departure after a nine-year tenure as manager at Liverpool.
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The unexpected news has sent shockwaves through the footballing world, with Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso emerging as the frontrunner to succeed Klopp, as indicated by the latest betting odds.
During their time in the Premier League, Pep and Klopp have been central figures, with Manchester City clinching five Premier League titles and Liverpool securing one.
While the statistics may not fully capture the narrative, it’s noteworthy that the title has been decided on the final day twice, with Manchester City emerging victorious on both occasions.
Despite Pep’s dominance in terms of trophies and league standings, Klopp holds the upper hand in their head-to-head record, boasting 12 victories compared to Pep’s 11 in their 28 encounters.
Given Klopp’s departure, it’s not surprising that the Spaniard has expressed admiration for him, and he may even welcome the prospect of facing a new challenge in the 24/25 season.
In a Q&A with Sky Sports, Guardiola revealed why the Liverpool head coach has been his toughest rival: “We’ve faced each other 1,000 million times,”
“Second, because he’s beaten me a lot, and that [has] always been a challenge, to face him again and again and again. So, we respect each other – at least, from my point of view, I respect him a lot.
“Of course, we have arguments and I don’t like to be beaten by him, but he’s been my biggest rival [because of the] amount of times we [have faced each other] and the pleasure when you beat him – because you know how difficult it is.”
Guardiola also rated Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as the greatest manager in history in the interview: “Sir Alex is No 1 for the amount of titles he won, the change and consistency.”
