A new season of sports
If City break the rules, Klopp's "legacy" will be reassessed
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have been competing in two different countries for more than 10 seasons. Despite their current clubs, which are deeply hostile to each other, the two managers – at least publicly – have tried to forge a brotherly camaraderie.
Now Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool and could make Pep Guardiola the most successful manager in the Premier League. The gap between other Premier League teams and Manchester City is so wide that none of the other 18 Premier League clubs have yet to win the Premier League title. Jurgen Klopp's departure from Borussia Dortmund in 2015 has left Bayern Munich dominating the Bundesliga, and his departure at the end of the season will also give Pep Guardiola's side a monopoly in the league once again. As with all great rivalries, when the strength of one side is weakened, the competitiveness of both sides is weakened.
In 2020, when Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finally won the club's first Premier League title in 30 years, he was thrilled that they beat Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's highest points in a single season in the Premier League are both in the top four of Premier League history: In 2018/19, Jurgen Klopp's side scored 97 points, the fourth-highest in a single Premier League season – and only Liverpool's second-highest single-season points, and behind Manchester City, the third-highest team in history with 98 points.
The rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp is no match for Ferguson and Arsene Wenger at the turn of the millennium. Although Manchester City and Liverpool are barely on par with them, Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are undoubtedly the most iconic figures in the Premier League for 30 years. Between Manchester United, Arsenal's managers and their players, the rivalry is brutal and painful. The fierce rivalry between two talented teams led by two distinct managers is fascinating.
The duel between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp is less about the personality of the manager – even though they are both very strong managers – and more about the pursuit of perfection. Two strong teams that are used to being in a near-invincible position. The rivalry between them encompasses complex tactics, asymmetrical formations, adductive full-backs, and the tiring complexity of high tempo and high possession. In this kind of competition, a small mistake can make the difference between winning and losing. It's a top-level contest between two top coaches.
The rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp is not over yet. The Premier League's accusations against Manchester City since the 2009-10 season threaten to reshape the way we think about English football over the past 16 years. Although it is unlikely that an independent commission will take back any of City's seven Premier League titles and award them to the challenger closest to them. However, if Klopp's closest rival is found to have violated financial rules, his achievements will have to be revisited.
The Liverpool boss has been sympathetic to Pep Guardiola in this regard. Klopp said the manager must be able to trust those who fund the club and are responsible for its operations. In the four years leading up to the 1992-93 season, Arsene Wenger's Monaco finished second and third in Ligue 1 twice, behind Marseille, who were stripped of their fifth title in a 'five-in-a-row' Ligue 1 title due to corruption. Despite the rivalry between Monaco and Marseille, and the bribery scandal that erupted in the latter, differing in scope and nature from the Premier League's charges against Manchester City, the former has undoubtedly changed the perception of Arsene Wenger across European football.
Whatever happens at these meetings, Klopp has always received relatively little financial support against Pep Guardiola. That's the case with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, and Manchester City, under Pep Guardiola, have turned into an invincible machine with the deep pockets of the Abu Dhabi boss. With investment of this magnitude – and a high level of performance in trading players and developing youngsters – Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are the closest team to breaking Manchester City's Premier League dominance.
At the level of team owners, Manchester City and Liverpool are also largely in a state of opposition. Liverpool's owners, the Fenway Group, want the Premier League and UEFA to strictly enforce the provisions of the Financial Fair Play Act – now known as the Profit and Sustainability Rules. In any case, the American investors have allowed Liverpool to stick to this principle. They appointed Jurgen Klopp, won the Premier League and Champions League, and rebuilt Anfield. But despite their rapid growth through a series of mistakes and successes, City have always been two steps ahead of them.
Why did the animosity between the two clubs never extend to the manager? We have no way of knowing. Both managers are closely linked to the strategy of their respective clubs, but perhaps, in the thin air they breathe, the only person who can truly understand the challenges facing Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola is each other. They only complain about each other when they are in front of the camera and in private with their confidants.
When Pep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League in 2016, he faced top coaches such as Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger, Antonio Conte, Ronald Koeman, Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino. By next season, all but one of them have left the Premier League, and even Mauricio Pochettino faces an uncertain future at Chelsea. Arguably, the closest challenger to him right now is Mikel Arteta. As the joke goes, Pep Guardiola cultivated Arteta in the hope of enjoying a little competition.
In other eras, Jurgen Klopp could win more Premier League titles. But in Pep Guardiola's era, he will have to accept that he can only win the Premier League once or twice. Given the intensity of the rivalry between them, Klopp's impact should not be underestimated, regardless of the number of trophies he received when he left Liverpool.