Pep Guardiola admits he will miss Jurgen Klopp after the German revealed on Friday he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
The Reds boss is the only manager to prise the Premier League title from the Catalan in the last six seasons, guiding the Merseyside outfit to the top of the table in 2020.
Klopp has won every available trophy except for the Uefa Europa League since arriving at Anfield over eight years ago, overseeing a hugely successful stint at the club.
But the former Borussia Dortmund manager admitted that the job requires too much energy from him to continue and he pines for some semblance of normality after spending all of his adult life in the football bubble.
For Guardiola there will be a measure of relief that arguably his greatest rival in the game is taking a step back from management, but the Man City boss believes Klopp will return to the dugout before long.
“I am a little bit [shocked], he’s an absolutely incredible manager and I know I don’t know him closely but he’s an incredible person as well,” he told ITV Sport after his side knocked Spurs out of the FA Cup on Friday night.
“I had a feeling that he’s leaving part of us too at Man City as Liverpool have been our biggest rival in his years.
“He will be missed, personally I will miss. I am pleased because without him I will sleep a little bit better the night before we play against Liverpool! But I wish him all the best. He doesn’t admit it but he will be back.
“All the managers will [feel tired] when you’ve done many years, I feel it completely. I felt it at Barcelona so I understand it completely.”
Jurgen Klopp – The man who brought Liverpool back
