New Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed he spoke with Pep Guardiola before taking the job at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel took charge of Chelsea for the first time on Wednesday night in a goalless draw with Wolves after replacing Frank Lampard as manager earlier this week.
The 47-year-old knows Guardiola well after they faced each other in Germany when the Man City boss was at Bayern Munich and Tuchel was in charge of first Mainz and then Borussia Dortmund.
Guardiola was quick to welcome Tuchel to the Premier League and now the new Chelsea manager has revealed they spoke before he took the role.
He told Football.London: "I spoke with Pep a lot since he came here and I have followed the Premier League very closely from Germany and France, that is clear because this is the benchmark of leagues.
"I saw that yesterday on a physical level, on a level of athleticism and emotion and completely different level than we are used to. But it brings out the best in us coaches and the best in our players, I truly believe in that.
"Personally, this is something to steam up to and to compete against the best coaches in the world, it will bring out the best in me for sure and I am completely ready for that, I feel very positive about the challenge."
Speaking on Tuesday, Guardiola said he was delighted to see Tuchel in the Premier League and backed the former PSG manager to be successful.
He said: "He's an exceptional manager so I'm pretty sure he'll have success. I'm happy to see him here in this country.
"When I was at Bayern Munich, I played against him at Mainz and then at Dortmund.
"He did an incredible job, the way Dortmund played that season was outstanding.
"We fought a lot at Bayern Munich to win that title. He's a friend of mine and I'm happy to see him."
