Manchester City journalist Jack Gaughan has shed light on the staff members’ reactions at Etihad following the surprising news of Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool at the end of the season.
Klopp’s announcement last week stunned not only Liverpool fans but also resonated across the football world beyond the club, drawing reactions from various managers, including Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel.
And now Jack Gaughan has revealed how the Manchester City staff, arguably Klopp’s biggest rivals during his tenure, responded to the news.
Speaking to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, he shared their perspective on Klopp’s departure:
“I don’t think they will do (stop smiling) will they. Look, there’s an element of they think they’ve seen him off. Someone mentioned to me last week, which you know, fair enough.”
“Guardiola will look at it and think Liverpool will need a bit of a rebuild and a new manager to get his feet under the table and I think he’ll look at the rest of the league and probably feel this is there for the taking.”
“I don’t think Klopp would have stayed as long as he did without Guardiola and I don’t think Guardiola would have stayed as long without Klopp.”
Klopp’s Liverpool have been Manchester City’s primary competition for the title for the past several years, with only Arsenal posing a challenge last season.
The intense rivalry has seen Liverpool narrowly miss out on the title to City twice, each time by just a single point.
With Klopp out of the picture, it remains uncertain who replaces him and the kind of impact he makes.
The significant gap in quality and depth among other top teams, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs, could potentially provide Guardiola with a clear path to secure additional titles.
I am still heart broken by Klop imminent departure but.there is nothing I can do.about it . He has put a smile on our faces after being ridiculed for.some time.He always gave hope.to us under all circumstances.The fact.that he managed to give.good.results despite thefact that we had players with less quality when compared with our closest rivals but pull through speaks volumes about his managerial credentials.Hopefulu FSG will get.a.capable manager coach