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Pep Guardiola has revealed he misses his former rival Jurgen Klopp and said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League meeting between Manchester City and Liverpool that he could not think of a better opponent to face on a momentous day for the Catalan.
Guardiola will take charge of his 1000th game as a head coach when the Premier League champions head to the Etihad this weekend. The City boss has overseen a near-decade-long battle with Liverpool for the Premier League, with the two clubs winning the last eight between them.
Particularly during Klopp’s time at Anfield, their sides contested some monumental duels, with Guardiola referring to Klopp as his greatest rival when the latter left in 2024. The former Barcelona man was even tearful as he clinched the title on the final day of the campaign ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool.
As he prepares an incredible milestone on Sunday, Guardiola paid tribute to his old adversaries and said Liverpool has pushed him more than any other club in his managerial career.
“If I had to choose one rival to this milestone, I want to share it with many people. That would be the best. I have been longer than ever in this country,” said Guardiola in Friday’s press conference.
“Liverpool, especially under Jurgen, has been my biggest rival in this country. It could not be better, to be honest. The best in the universe decide this.
“It’s nice to live in and I know how quickly, things go here. One week ago, Liverpool had six defeats, disaster, and now they have won two, they are the best.
“I am pretty sure that all the managers have a little bit more perspective in this situation and know they have ups and downs. I have a high opinion of Liverpool right now, last season and when they were losing six games in seven. It’s the same.
“I think we push Liverpool to be better and Liverpool pushed us to be better. That’s for sure,” he added.
Guardiola has been beaten by Klopp more times in his career than any other coach, and the City boss feels those long-running battles have reshaped City’s perspective on who its main rivals are.
“Maybe we help to create this rivalry for the last decade. Before it was United vs Liverpool, I guess. Arsenal and Chelsea as well. Here our rivals were United.
“But what happened with Jurgen Klopp period and ours is the biggest because maybe apart from my first season we always split the leagues between us. Always I said I enjoyed this healthy rivalry we had in both clubs.
“In terms of Jurgen’s side and my side, I think we respected each other a lot. Jurgen gave me a lot and I miss him.
“He gave me a lot in a sense of how to beat him, how much I had to work and think and make me better. That belongs to Liverpool and ourselves.”
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