Pep Guardiola exclusive: Manchester City boss confident Jurgen Klopp will return to management but 'only he knows' where

ByDarren Beattie

Updated 09/02/2024 at 19:58 GMT

Outgoing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has vowed not to return to the Premier League - but Manchester City's Pep Guardiola believes the German will return to management in the future. The German stressed he does not "have the energy" to continue as Reds boss and Guardiola feels a rest will do his rival the world of good, while also admitting Klopp helped push his City team to greatness.

Pep Guardiola is confident that his rival Jurgen Klopp will return to management in the future, but stresses that only the Liverpool great knows where his next destination will be.

Guardiola was speaking ahead of Manchester City's match against Everton, which is live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 11:00 on Saturday, February 10 with kick-off at 12:30.

Klopp made the shock announcement that he will step down as Liverpool boss at the end of the season after nine memorable years in which he has helped transform the club into one of Europe's superpowers once more.

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The German arrived at Anfield in October 2015 having replaced Brendan Rodgers with the club 10th in the Premier League and without a league title in three decades. Not only did he guide The Reds to a long-awaited league trophy, he added the UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the FA Community Shield, for good measure.

While Klopp - who revealed that he no longer has the "energy" to manage Liverpool - has ruled out a return to the Premier League, Manchester City boss Guardiola believes he will be back in the hotseat somewhere in the future.

In an exclusive interview ahead of his side's game with Everton on Saturday Guardiola said: "He will be back I’m pretty sure. Where I don’t know, only he knows it.

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"He will rest a little bit and relax and take the perspective because [when you are playing] every third day season after season, it’s difficult to take a perspective of what I’m doing, who we are, what I want in life. Sometimes to take a break is really good.

"He’s going to decide his best."

Over the last decade, Man City versus Liverpool has been the standout fixture of the Premier League campaign, and sometimes it has been decisive, too, with the title often going to the wire between the two giants.

Only once have Klopp's Liverpool beaten City to the title - back in 2019/20 when The Reds finally reclaimed the throne in dominant fashion. But so high have the standards been that City have needed 90+ points on two occasions to get the better of their rivals.

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Asked if Klopp had made him a better competitor, the Spaniard said: "Absolutely. So many times, yeah.

"The dimension of success is the dimension of a rival. When a rival is not good enough, your success is not big enough.

"But competing with this Liverpool for many years - this one and the previous ones - and sometimes beat them, it shows how good we have done.

"It’s the same with them I think when they beat us. It is the best measure to realise what we have done as a team."

How to watch Manchester City v Everton?

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

Manchester City v Everton will be live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage from 11:00 on Saturday, February 10 ahead of kick-off at 12:30.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media

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