Liverpool fans have taken to social media to share their respect for Pep Guardiola as his tenure as Manchester City manager is due to come to an end this Sunday.
Read Man City have shared that Enzo Maresca is set to replace Guardiola after he picked up his 20th trophy as Man City won the FA Cup at Wembley.
After 10 years at the club, he will be chasing his seventh Premier League title in the league decider. Liverpool fans are now left to reflect on an era that saw them play their best football but win only two league titles.
The end of an era.
Thank you for everything Pep Guardiola. You’ve changed football in this country and you were always a true gentleman and great competitor.
Liverpool would not have had as much success in the last 10 years without City pushing us. pic.twitter.com/DRQPU05n9o
— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) May 18, 2026
Mutual respect
Guardiola was always aware of the quality of the sides his City were competing against and clear to the reality of what this meant. The standard he set to be better than the rest was ridiculous. Liverpool fans acknowledging this mutual respect tells you everything about what those battles meant.
Pep Guardiola to leave Manchester City. Wow. I doubt I’m the only one who’s sad about this as a Liverpool fan. Such a likeable and quality manager. Will always remember his respect for Klopp and Liverpool. You served the premier league well, Pep. One of the best managers ever.
— LFC (@LFChve) May 18, 2026
End of an era.
Pep Guardiola will always have my respect as a manager.
The only reason why Klopp didn’t win at least 2-3 more Premier League’s in his 8 years at Liverpool.#lfc pic.twitter.com/Uk27Qxj3qX
— Ash (@Ash_LFC7) May 18, 2026
Liverpool fans will not weep for Manchester City today, and there will be no guard of honour at the Kop for his departure, nor should there be. But the respect in the reaction from the Anfield faithful since the news broke of Guardiola’s departure speaks volumes about what the rivalry represented.
The end of an era: Pep Guardiola vs Jurgen Klopp
The Premier League without Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola feels like Ligue 1 already 😭. We’ll never witness a rivalry like that again. Now it’s Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick 😭🤡. The premier league really downgraded the graphics.
— Sibulele (@SibuMafanya) May 18, 2026
Guardiola and Klopp signalled an era of Premier League football in which two of the league’s best teams battled for perfection. Liverpool’s trophyless tallies of 97 and 92 points are a testament to the perfection that competing against Pep required. With the outpour of acknowledgement at his exit, they are showing clearly to the City manager the respect as he exits that this period of high-level football requires.
Guardiola took on Liverpool 27 times as Manchester City manager, and aptly, the teams couldn’t be split. Both teams won 10 matches, and seven ended as a draw. His rivalry with Liverpool simply couldn’t be separated.
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Good bye Pep Guardiola. The most successful 10 years of any manager in the world.
Any chance he can accept the Liverpool job?https://t.co/V1YNKQlXun
— Anfield voice 🇬🇧 (@Gr8tful_Bushman) May 18, 2026
While Liverpool fans reflect on what was a special time for the club, it does raise some questions about the future. Despite winning the league in Slot’s first season, Liverpool is in the midst of a difficult manager transition period. Manchester United, Chelsea and now Manchester City are all in relatively unstable situations when it comes to the manager position. Liverpool fans will feel justified in asking for more. They want to take advantage of this period of transition and aim for title number 21.