Jurgen Klopp has revealed he spoke to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola shortly after Liverpool’s Champions League final victory against Tottenham.
The Reds beat their Premier League rivals 2-0 in Madrid on Saturday courtesy of Mohamed Salah’s early penalty and a late Divock Origi strike to lift the trophy for the sixth time in the club’s history.
It is also Klopp’s first trophy as Reds manager after four years in charge at Anfield and is likely to go some way towards erasing the painful memories of Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League final in Kiev.
The win ensures Liverpool’s season ends on a successful note after the disappointment of missing out on the Premier League title, despite amassing 97 points and losing just one game.
It was Guardiola’s City who ultimately claimed the trophy by a single point after a thrilling title race between the two sides that went all the way to the final weekend of the season.
City also won both cup competitions to become the first men’s side to win the English domestic treble, though their hopes of Champions League glory were dashed following a dramatic defeat by eventual runners-up Tottenham in the quarter-finals.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle at the Wanda Metropolitano, Klopp revealed that his title rival Guardiola had phoned to congratulate him on Liverpool’s victory.
The Spaniard also pledged to go toe-to-toe with the Merseysiders for trophies again next year.
“A second ago I spoke to Pep Guardiola on the phone. Our head physio [Lee Nobes] worked for Manchester City at the start of the year but he wanted to win the Champions League… no, it’s a joke,” Klopp told reporters.
“We promised each other that we will kick each other’s butts again next season. We will go for everything and see what we get.
“Getting 97 points in the Premier League and winning the Champions League is an unbelievable long way to go and we did it. That’s incredible.
“Now we’ve won something, we will carry on. We will win things. That is big. I am really happy.”
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