While Guardiola has undeniably made City the most dominant force in Europe, the Reds had been left far behind to forage among their own fallen rubble for relics of past glory, having suffered a spectacular fall from grace and are once again languishing in mid-table.
It was Sir Alex Ferguson himself who once huffed-and-puffed that the Blues could never in any way be taken seriously as a threat when his United team were sitting pretty as the only serial winners in the Premier League. Understandably it would have been a tad difficult for the elite Red Devils then not to have an air of self-righteousness around them then. Guardiola had no choice but to eat a slice of humble pie in admitting that Ferguson’s assessment then was right. However he stood his ground when he affirmed that he has never regarded United as serious challengers during the entirety of his eight seasons at the Etihad.
“When I finish my tenure here, Liverpool will have been my rivals and our rivals,” said Guardiola. “They have made us a challenge and helped make us a better team in all departments.
“They have challenged us like no other team has done in my period here.
“There was one year with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] that was quite close – but overall it has been Liverpool.”
While Ferguson’s United were winning 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies, the Blues wee during that period compelled to suffer the ignominy of relegation to League One and were left in the void of not lifting a trophy for 35 years.
Guardiola added: “Sir Alex was right, City were not challengers. Without the presence of (owner) Sheikh Mansour and (chairman) Khaldoon, who took over and made an investment, it was United and Arsenal who were the richest ones and that’s why they were there.
“But now is the reality – and we want to stay here for as long as possible.
“We were not in the elite. But now we are in the elite and maybe it is uncomfortable for them (United). We are there now and we want to be there in the future.”
Well spoken and well done, Pep!