26 January 2024 , 22:31
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to "incredible manager" Jurgen Klopp after he announced he will be stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season.
Guardiola and Klopp have enjoyed a great rivalry over the years, dating back to their time in charge of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively. They have faced each other a total of 29 times across all competitions, with Klopp winning on 12 occasions, Guardiola winning 11 times and six games ending in a draw.
And, speaking after of City's 1-0 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round tie, Guardiola was asked about Klopp's impending departure. He told ITV: "He's an incredible manager. I haven't got to know him closely, but he's an incredible person as well.
"I have a feeling when he leaves, part of Manchester City leaves. He's been our biggest rival, Liverpool in these years here and with Dortmund, he's been my biggest rival. He will be missed, I will miss him.
"I'm a little bit pleased, I'll sleep better, the nights before we play against Liverpool. But I wish him all the best. And he doesn't admit it, but he will be back." Explaining his decision to step down, Klopp admitted he is simply "running out of energy" and had informed the club of his decision back in November.
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"I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it," he said. "I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything.
"But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now.
"I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again. After the years we had together and after all the time we spent together and after all the things we went through together, the respect grew for you, the love grew for you and the least I owe you is the truth – and that is the truth.
Klopp has explained his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season (Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)"In an ideal world I wouldn't have said anything to anybody until the end of the season, win everything and then say goodbye. That's not possible. In the world we are living in, it's not possible to keep things like this secret; it's maybe a surprise that we could keep it [a secret] until now.
"There are so many things which are influenced by it, especially personal situations. People from my staff need to know early – and especially the club needs to know early and needs to plan.
"You cannot plan anything and you cannot really start. You can do a lot of stuff with knowing it but not making it public, but the decisive things, a lot of things, you cannot do. That means the club needs time."