It doesn’t get better than this – so why would Pep walk away from City?
JURGEN KLOPP having signed a new contract with Liverpool, all eyes turn to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. He’s already long passed his stay at previous clubs and has spoken of wanting to try international management. Typically, Guardiola does shorter stints than Klopp, we know that. Yet, why not? Why wouldn’t he stay? Set aside the incredible support he receives at City and the financial power of the club, where is Guardiola going to find an epic challenge on the scale of the battle with Liverpool? There is nothing like it out there for him. Nothing that would test his ability as coach and manager, tactician and mentor, selector and recruiter. It is without doubt among the reasons Klopp wanted to stay. Yes, he is right for the club and his wife likes their life here, those are compelling motivations, too. But, professionally, how rewarding must this season be? He has the chance to win the quadruple, while up against one of the greatest teams England has ever seen. He is pitting his wits against one of the game’s finest minds. And there is mutual respect. In purely professional terms, for all of his achievements at Borussia Dortmund, this must be the time of Klopp’s life. A third Champions League final in five years is a distinct probability. Dortmund were a good team, but they couldn’t do that. And Guardiola? Could we seriously imagine a coach as driven as he is, content to wait for meaningful competitions every two years? Wading through qualifying rounds of mismatches, shorn of drama, waiting months for the chance to have a crack at opponents that are palpably inferior when he could be up against Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent AlexanderArnold. And Klopp. Guardiola walked away from Barcelona once, from Lionel Messi and his Catalan home. He could walk again. But surely the challenge is here, and now, which is what Klopp recognised. It doesn’t get better than this.