MY ACCOUNT
Pep Guardiola sees no reason why Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool contract extension should play a factor in whether to prolong his own stay at rivals Manchester City.
Klopp confirmed on Thursday he had signed fresh terms with the Reds to keep him at Anfield until at least 2026, with his previous deal set to have expired in 2024.
Guardiola will soon enter the final 12 months of his own contract, though most neutrals will hope he stays on to continue a fascinating rivalry that has been established between City and Liverpool over the past few seasons.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, though, said his immediate focus is on Saturday’s Premier League clash with Leeds United, a match in which they could find themselves starting two points behind title rivals Liverpool, who play Newcastle United in the early kick-off.
“I don’t know, Leeds is the focus. I congratulate Jurgen and Liverpool, I think it’s really good for the Premier League, and I wish him all the best in the future,” Guardiola said.
“My future is Leeds, our future is Leeds and the end of the season. Why should it make an impact [on my future]?
“Everyone has their situation. If we decide to stay longer it won’t be because Jurgen extended his contract or not, I don’t see this relation, honestly.
“All my career as a manager always I’ve had rivals. I think it’s really good for the Premier League that he decided to extend the contract, because he and the club decided to stick together, there’s nothing to add.”
Guardiola added no further talks are in the pipeline with City, though he acknowledged the club is the ideal place for him to work at this stage of his career.
He added: “No, no. I’m so concerned about the last three weeks, one month of the season. One year is a long time, six seasons together, many years. I am enjoying this part of the season, after we have time.
“I have an incredible relationship with the club. You know my opinion, I’m incredibly happy, I could not be in a better place in my life right now to work than here, I could not visualise a better place, but it’s not just about me. We are going to take the decision.”
While Guardiola was complimentary of Klopp’s work at Liverpool, he appeared a little more terse when asked about the fact Mohamed Salah had won the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2021-2022, an award his own star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne would have held legitimate claims to win.
“Congratulations to Salah,” he said, before adding: “I was not in contention, I played good!
“[De Bruyne] won already. Congratulations to Salah. Jurgen said that they have the best goalkeeper, the best second keeper, in the world, the best central defender, the best holding midfielder, the best striker.
“So, it’s normal they [Liverpool] win all the awards.”
