Guardiola & Klopp: A rivalry like no other, An era is coming to an end

Liverpool and Manchester City have developed a ferocious rivalry over the years, with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola producing consistently thrilling matches every time they go head-to-head on the pitch.

The two managers have plenty of history, and while the two Premier League sides have much to do with that, it goes back further than just meetings between the Reds and Citizens.

The pair began their history as opposing managers of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, sharing big moments and big results between them across both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.

The 29 meetings between the two rank top on Klopp's head-to-head list and second on Guardiola's list behind only Jose Mourinho.

Their most recent match against each other was on November 25, 2023, when Liverpool recovered from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium.

All-time Klopp vs. Guardiola meetings: 29

Guardiola wins: 11

Klopp wins: 12

Draws: 6

"[The first reason why Klopp has been my toughest rival is because] we've faced each other 1,000 million times," Pep Guardiola once revealed 

"Second, because he's beaten me a lot and that [has] always been a challenge, to face him again and again and again. So, we respect each other - at least, from my point of view, I respect him a lot.

"Of course, we have arguments and I don't like to be beaten by him, but he's been my biggest rival [because of the] amount of times we [have faced each other] and the pleasure when you beat him - because you know how difficult it is."

Before the teams met in the top flight in April 2022, Klopp calling Guardiola one of the best managers of all time.

"I respect a lot what they [City] do," Klopp said at the time, calling City "an insane football team" in an unusual choice of compliment. "And, for me, the world's best manager.

“So, that’s a combination which makes it quite tricky. But the good news is that they are human beings as well. If I would be a different person I would be, probably, a little bit depressed about the fact that Pep Guardiola is constantly coaching these kind of teams.

"Maybe in Dortmund we could've won more titles if Pep wouldn't have been at Bayern. Now it is pretty much the same.

"Imagine if he would not be here. We probably could've won at least one more league title. But I am not like this, thank God. So I am completely happy with our situation."

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Now the era comes to an end, but maybe these two best rivals will meet again in another field one day...