Guardiola responds to questions over Man City future after Klopp announcement
Pep Guardiola teased he could extend his contract at Manchester City again after refuting suggestions he could follow Jurgen Klopp in quitting the Premier League.
The revered Liverpool boss, 56, announced on Friday that he would be standing down from his role at Anfield in the summer, over eight-and-a-half years on from when he first took the job back in October 2015.
Guardiola and Klopp have wrestled for the Premier League crown in recent years with City and Liverpool both at the top of their games. There has been plenty of speculation that both would depart their respective clubs in recent years, with Klopp's exit now a reality - but Guardiola has no plans to follow suit.
Speaking just hours after Klopp's exit had been announced, Guardiola insisted: "I’m fine. There’s still one more year, I want to do it - and maybe I will extend. I try to manage. What we did last season, we have to do more and more now - it’s not going to happen. One step at a time.
"I see my team every single day and the team is there. They still argue between each other. The competition in training. They want to win. The focus they have, How they talk. How they communicate. How they celebrate.
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"Of course we are going to lose games but I have the duty to see how we perform. Even I’m surprised at my players because even after all they have done they are still there. That makes me feel so proud to be part of this club."
Join the debate! Who do you want to see succeed Klopp? Let us know here.
Pep Guardiola has no plans to quit the Premier League after Jurgen Klopp confirmed he will leave Liverpool this summer (Getty Images)Guardiola went on to pay tribute to Klopp, who he dubbed as his "best ever rival". He continued: “I will sleep better [when Klopp goes]. The games we play before against Liverpool were almost a nightmare. Of course he will be missed.
"It was a shock. I felt when I heard it that a part of Man City … we will lose something. We cannot define our period here without him … without Liverpool. Impossible. They have been our biggest rivals.
"And personally he [Klopp] has been the best rival I ever had in my life – in Dortmund when I was in Bayern, then here. I think the Premier League are going to miss him – the charisma, the personality and especially the way his teams play.
“Maybe it’s my opinion and he will not admit it but he will be back. I know it. Football needs managers and personalities like him. And I hope … it was our dream when we were together … hopefully now from next season we can have time to go to dinner together. Or have the drink that we deserve to take.
“He loves the game but it is nine years in the same place, the demand is so high. Every moment you think I need to breathe. I didn’t speak with Jurgen but maybe he feels that. Take a break, take a step back and take a perspective on everything. I understand completely. I don’t want to compare with him but at Barcelona I had that feeling. I needed the time to find myself.”
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