Pep Guardiola reportedly called former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to seek advice about his former assistant Pep Lijnders.
Lijnders served as the assistant coach under the legendary German manager Jurgen Klopp from 2018 to 2024. While at Liverpool, he played a key role in helping the Merseyside club secure the Premier League (2019/20), the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup twice.
A few days ago, Pep Lijnders joined as Guardiola’s assistant coach at Manchester City on a two-year deal (one-year guaranteed, with an option to extend for another year).
A year after an emotional Anfield farewell and launching his own managerial career, Pep Lijnders is back in English football as Pep Guardiola’s assistant.
This is how one of the most unlikely moves of the summer unfolded with Klopp the sounding board. https://t.co/F09yEfvTTS
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) June 10, 2025
According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, Guardiola personally called Klopp to ask about Lijnders’ contribution during Liverpool’s golden era, and the former Reds manager reportedly gave positive feedback about his long-time assistant.
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Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s legendary rivalry
Arguably, the two greatest managers in modern-day football, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, shared one of the fiercest rivalries in English football between 2016 and 2024. The German tactician took charge at Liverpool in 2015, while Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City a year later in 2016.
Their rivalry even started before the Premier League, when Klopp managed Borussia Dortmund and Guardiola was at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
The head-to-head record between them was always tight. Klopp won 12 matches, and Guardiola won 11 out of the 30 clashes between them (stats via Transfermarkt).
Guardiola has claimed six Premier League titles, while Klopp has secured just one. But every season, their teams pushed each other to the limit.
As the City boss said during Klopp’s final season at Liverpool in 2024: “I am a little bit… he’s an absolutely incredible manager and I know — I don’t know him closely — but he’s an incredible person. I had a feeling that he’s leaving part of us too at Man City as Liverpool have been our biggest rival in his years”.
“Personally, he has been my biggest rival from when he was at Dortmund and I was at Bayern Munich. He will be missed — personally, I will miss him. I am pleased because without him, I will sleep a little bit better the night before we play against Liverpool! But I wish him all the best.”
He also added: “I think the Premier League is going to miss his charisma, personality, and the way his teams play.”
There was always mutual respect between the two managers, and Guardiola’s call to Klopp about Lijnders is yet another reflection of that legacy.
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