Pep Guardiola was moved to tears when Jurgen Klopp’s final piece of praise for his great managerial rival was put to him after clinching a historic fourth straight league title with Manchester City.
Klopp said farewell to Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the season and the two bosses have raised the standards in the Premier League in recent seasons, with Klopp’s team the only one to stop the Blues during a run of six titles in seven seasons.
Guardiola has regularly described Liverpool and Klopp as his greatest rival during his managerial career. On Friday Klopp said that Guardiola was the “best manager in the world”. He added: “If you put any other manager in that club, they don’t win the league four times in a row. That’s down to him and his team.”
City completed the job of winning four titles in a row on Sunday, beating West Ham 3-1 at the Etihad to become the first team in the history of England’s top flight to reach that milestone.
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In his post-match press conference, Guardiola was asked about Klopp’s comment and became visibly emotional as he paid tribute to the German.
“I will miss him a lot,” he said as his voice wavered. “Jurgen has been a really important part of my life. He brought me to another level as a manager. We respect each other incredibly.
“I have the feeling he will be back and thank you so much for his words but he knows that behind me there is a lot that this club provides me with, otherwise alone I can’t do it. I’m humble enough to understand that.
“He helps me with his team, he has been a huge competitor in my life. I didn’t discover the way I can punish them like I can find for other teams. With him it has been so difficult.
“I’m pretty sure Mikel [Arteta] will continue his legacy to drive us to another level. I wish him all the best and hope his final game was special, he deserved it.
“He made Liverpool recognised with his stamp, and the incredible pride of being a Liverpool fan. It’s not just about titles, there are personalities that when they arrive in one place they stay forever and Jurgen and Liverpool will be part of the level of Shankly and Paisley and these incredible legends.”