Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp: Last episode of rivalry that has dominated English football?

For such an enduring rivalry it has been a friendly one – with few of the refused handshakes or touchline bust-up antics that came with Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, or Wenger and Jose Mourinho, or Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

Including their time in Germany, the pair have lost against the other more than against any other manager (10 wins for Guardiola, 11 wins for Klopp).

In fact, after their last league meeting, a 1-1 draw at the Etihad in November, Klopp pulled his striker Darwin Nunez away from Guardiola as the Spanish-speaking pair were having an argument.

“I love them both and so I tried to calm the situation down,” said Klopp. “I was absolutely not involved, surprisingly.

“I didn’t understand a word. It was emotion. Pep wants to win, we want to win. Both didn’t win so obviously nobody was really happy and these things can happen.”

The pair frequently praise each other in news conferences and interviews.

Countless times over the years, Klopp has referred to Guardiola as the best manager in the world.

“Pep and I are not best friends because we don’t know each other but I respect him a lot and I know he respects what we are doing as well. For a rivalry, we don’t need to be disrespectful,” the German said.

Guardiola, meanwhile, said in 2021 “his teams helped me to become a better manager”.

“He put me at another level, to think about it and to prove myself to be a better manager, to try to beat them,” the Catalan said.

“That is the reason why I am still in this business. Some managers – and Jurgen is one of them – challenge you to make a step forward.”

Guardiola, when he was Barcelona boss, was engaged in a bitter rivalry with Real Madrid boss Mourinho for some years.

But he said: “Jurgen, as a manager, has been the biggest rival I’ve ever had in my career.

“The point is not a jibe to Jose. He is an exciting manager and I was his rival but I’ve played many more times against Liverpool.”