Jurgen Klopp has revealed he is full of admiration for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
The pair are currently in charge of two of the best sides in Premier League history and have seen their sides dominate English football in the past few years.
And when asked about their relationship, Klopp played down talk of any 'rivalry' between himself and Guardiola.
Instead, the German insisted he will never develop any animosity towards any of the fellow managers he comes up against.
He told the Mirror : “I don’t know most of them on a personal level so why should I have rivalry with a person I don’t know?
“I don’t have to hate the manager of the other team to want to beat him. That’s just not me.
"When I started playing football, I only played with my best friends. There were only ten or so. We played five-a-side and they were absolutely my best friends until they were on the other team.
“Then, I wanted to beat him desperately just to win the game. And when the game was over, it was over and we went and did something completely different.
“We are constantly competing against our rivals when we are on the pitch but I don’t have enough time to think about all these other things.
“I don’t have anything but respect for the other managers because I know how difficult a job this is.”
Just a week after becoming Premier League champions, Liverpool were brought back down to earth as they were beaten 4-0 by City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.
And Klopp added on Thursday's defeat:"I think we proved that point, that City is an unbelievable team.
“So, isn't it nice that in this league another team can be champions even when City is around and plays this kind of football, that's a surprise as well."
