'He will be back' - Man City manager Pep Guardiola reacts to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool FC departure

Pep Guardiola has opened up on his admiration for Jurgen Klopp after the Liverpool manager announced he will stand down from his position at Anfield at the end of the season. Klopp dropped that bombshell on Friday morning and will see things through to the summer before widespread changes behind the scenes.

Klopp, 56, has won every trophy available to him since Liverpool appointed him in 2015 - following his success at Borussia Dortmund - and the German has proved a worthy adversary for City and Guardiola over the past decade. Naturally, the treble-winning Catalan will be sorry to see Klopp depart despite the difficulty he has given him during his time in Germany and England

Speaking after his side's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Tottenham on Friday night, Guardiola said: "I will sleep better. The days before playing against Liverpool were almost a nightmare. Of course he will be missed. I was shocked, like everyone, to the news.

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"I felt a part of Man City would be lost. We cannot define our period here together without him and Liverpool - it is impossible. They have been our biggest rival and personally he has been my biggest rival from when he was at Dortmund and I was at Bayern.

"I think the Premier League is going to miss his charisma, personality and the way his teams play. They have always been a pleasure to watch how positive they are in their approach. They try to win every game. I wish him all the best.

"Liverpool is always tough. It will be tougher from now on but maybe it is an opinion that he will not admit but he will be back. I know it. Maybe in 10 years