Mauricio Pochettino has hailed Pep Guardiola as "the best coach in the world" as his Paris Saint-Germain side prepare to take on Manchester City in the Champions League.
Two of Europe's top sides tonight face off at the Etihad Stadium in one of the standout games of the group stage and with the place in the knockout stages yet to be confirmed.
The build-up to the game has been overshadowed somewhat by Pochettino's interest in the vacant Manchester United managerial position, with MEN Sport reporting the club are confident of making the Argentine their permanent successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pochettino has across spells with Southampton, Tottenham and PSG got the better of Guardiola on six occasions, including a remarkable Champions League quarter-final three seasons ago which Spurs edged on away goals.
But it is City head coach he rates above any other, telling BT Sport: "It’s always amazing to come back to the city where I play one of the biggest teams in the world Manchester City. It's always a massive challenge, hopefully, it's a really amazing game we have again.
"It was an important victory for us (in September) and it’s always good to beat a team like Manchester City for confidence and belief in what we are doing. They are one of the best teams over the last few years. We are contenders, we are dreaming of winning the Champions League in Paris and, yes, I think we will have a tough game to qualify.
"It's always an amazing challenge to face Pep and for me he’s the best coach in the world. I love the football he tried to show at every club he’s been at. Yes, it's always an amazing challenge and it’s a very good challenge."
