Man City boss Pep Guardiola denies Jurgen Klopp ‘best manager’ claim before Liverpool tie

Jurgen Klopp previews Man City clash

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has slapped down claims made by his Liverpool counterpart, Jurgen Klopp, suggesting that the Catalan coach is the best in the world. The two Premier League heavyweights are set to go head-to-head on Sunday in a clash which could decide the fate of the title. 

Earlier on Friday, Klopp made a big claim about his Premier League title rival by claiming that Guardiola is ‘the best coach in the world’, adding that ‘we can all agree on that’. There may have been an element of mind games from the Liverpool boss, but Guardiola still took time to respond when quizzed on the comments several hours later. 

“I didn’t become a football manager to be ‘the best’,” he said, “Thank you so much to Jurgen Klopp [for the compliment], but I’m not. If we had success in the past, it is because of the team, spending money and the players.”

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Indeed, many judge Guardiola and Klopp to be the two finest managers in the world which only serves to up the stakes for Sunday’s contest. Reds hero Jamie Carragher went one step further and wrote in The Telegraph that City and Liverpool form the greatest rivalry that the division has ever seen. 

The teams are separated by just one point in the table as the Reds’ fine momentum has seen them steadily close the gap on City. Meanwhile, both are still in with a strong shout for the Champions League crown. Best case scenarios would see Liverpool round off the season with an unprecedented quadruple, while the Sky Blues are still in contention for an esteemed treble. 

Both sides warmed up for the encounter with Champions League victories in midweek as City saw off Atletico Madrid and Liverpool beat Benfica on the same night. Guardiola’s side will once again have to plough on without star centre-back Ruben Dias after the former Barcelona boss confirmed that he has failed to return from injury in time. 

Klopp, meanwhile, could have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose from at the Etihad where the teams drew 1-1 last season. Mind games or not, Guardiola talked up his managerial opponent ahead of Sunday’s showdown by claiming that their rivalry is up there with the finest in his career. 

“Jurgen has been as big a rival I have had in my career,” he claimed, “I admire what they do, how good they are. I enjoy this challenge.”

When asked if it was even tougher than the El Clasico feud he once contested with Jose Mourinho, who then managed Real Madrid, he added: “[Jurgen and I] play many times, more times. Jose is an exciting manager and we had the rivalry in Barcelona.

“In five years here we play many times, all the times we were close. I faced in Munich with Jurgen. How we set up the teams here we were close many times. Every season except the year we got 100 points and the year they got 99 we were tight.”

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