City boss credits rival for driving him on

Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to Jurgen Klopp for making him a better manager following Manchester City’s title success.

City were crowned Premier League champions on Tuesday, succeeding Klopp’s Liverpool.

The two managers have had a strong, but largely respectful, rivalry at the top of the English game in recent years and Liverpool boss Klopp was among the first to congratulate Guardiola this week.

The German even went on to describe Guardiola as the best manager in the world at a press conference on Wednesday.

That was a compliment Guardiola returned as he met media yesterday to preview tonight’s trip to Newcastle.

Reflecting on the text message he received from Klopp, Guardiola said: “I appreciate it a lot. He and (Everton manager) Carlo Ancelotti did it. I could not answer the messages yet but I will do today and I appreciate it a lot. I admire both of them.

“Jurgen, of course, was an inspiration for me. He made me, through his teams at Dortmund and Liverpool, a better manager. He made me think a lot about games and opponents. Thank you so much.”

● The all-english Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 29 has been switched to Porto after Uefa’s request to bring 2,000 people into the UK without quarantine was turned down by the government.

A line was drawn through Istanbul, the initial city chosen to stage the final, after the UK Government added Turkey to its high-risk ‘red list’ for international travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic, denying fans the chance to attend.

Wembley was considered as an alternative, but the government could not accommodate the request to allow quarantine exemptions for thousands of sponsors, VIPS and broadcasters.

Pep Guardiola.