Liverpool news: 'The Premier League is more important for Pep because he hasn't been in a UCL final in a while', says Klopp
What's the story?
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has responded to Pep Guardiola's recent comments, suggesting that the Premier League is more important than the Champions League, by taking a jibe at the Manchester City manager's inability to reach the European competition's finals in the last few years.
In case you didn't know...
Since his departure from Barcelona, Guardiola has had a difficult time in the Champions League, having failed to reach the European final since 2011.
This season, the Spaniard failed to inspire Manchester City beyond the quarter-finals of the competition after suffering a shock defeat to fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Last month, Guardiola claimed that the Premier League is the most important title to him and insisted that he did not come to the Etihad to win the Champions League.
Klopp, whose side Liverpool secured a European finals spot for the second consecutive time, has now responded to the City manager's suggestions.
The heart of the matter
Klopp cited Guardiola's inability to reach the Champions League finals in recent years as the reason for the comments. The Reds manager said (via Goal),
"The Premier League is more important for Guardiola because he hasn't been in the Champions League final for a while. Don’t get me wrong, we all know he is the best manager in the world and he deserves all the praise he gets."
"I say that the Champions League is more important because I can still win it and we have already lost the Premier League, as they have a better team and I think our season was better than theirs."
"We want to go as far as possible, that means we want to win that. I heard that Pep said people will only see him as a success if he wins the Champions League, it shows how luxurious the problems he has are."
"During the season we have to fight against them for the Premier League title and there is another competition. This year we were a little bit better than them in the Champions League."
What's next?
Liverpool are scheduled to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final at Madrid on June 1.