Pep Guardiola is insistent he will not go down the path taken by his previous greatest rival Jurgen Klopp who opted for an executive, non-managerial role within football as questions continue shrouding his Manchester City future with his contract winding down.
Pep Guardiola insists he would sooner quit football than follow Klopp into an executive role.
The Manchester City boss took to the dugout back in 2008 when he first took charge of Barcelona and has since only had one year away from management and is currently into his ninth season at the Etihad with talk of him potentially extending his contract.
In the event that he opts for something else, Guardiola maintains he will either be a manager or in no role at all. As for Klopp, who recently called time on his stint at Liverpool, where he spent almost nine years, the German has already taken on a new role, albeit not as a manager.
The German has taken a new appointment as head of global soccer at Red Bull, meaning he will influence matters at the clubs they own in Leipzig, New York and Salzburg.
Guardiola though was quick to distance himself from his former rival in this respect.
He said: “I like the green grass. To be the man in the tie, I do not like it. I would criticise my manager a lot! I can’t do it. Still I like coming here in the morning to work – I love it! This is the main reason I am a manager.
“I am thinking about Wolves on Sunday and the messages I have to tell them (the players), the images I have to see, the training I have to prepare. I want to beat Wolves desperately.”
Guardiola has no doubt splashed his name all over the history books at every club he’s been at. Whilst in Manchester he’s won six of the past seven Premier League titles. City have just won four on the trot – a feat never before achieved – and his side are favourites to claim a fifth in a row.
Several of his records have superseded those set by Sir Alex Ferguson, who remains the most successful Premier League manager following his achievements with Manchester United.
Guardiola twice downed Ferguson in Champions League finals but has refused to be drawn into a comparison on their respective legacies.
He said: “In this country and all around the world. Sir Alex Ferguson is the best. For the time, for the change of teams, for the trophies. Being close to one of the most important managers of all time is more than enough. It’s an incredible honour for me and for all the staff, all the assistants and all the players I’ve had.
“For the United fans, it’s always Sir Alex. Absolutely fine. I’m not saying I’m a bad manager, otherwise I could not be here for a long time and be a success, but to be best or not best, that is, believe me, it’s not important.
“Just to say Djokovic is better than Nadal, Nadal than Federer, Federer than Djokovic, so all three are exceptional. Jurgen Klopp made me a better manager, Jose Mourinho made me better manager, Mikel Arteta now making [me] better manager.”