Manchester United legend Gary Neville praised Liverpool’s head coach Jurgen Klopp after a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Anfield before admitting that he is eagerly waiting for his departure from the Merseyside club.
Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half penalty helped the Reds overcome the one-goal deficit but they missed out the chance to go to the top of the table as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal now sit at the summit with the same points as Klopp’s troops.
Neville appreciated Klopp for rebuilding the Liverpool side as when he took over, the club had not won the Premier League for over 20 years and the UEFA Champions League for 10 years.
The German led the club to a league win as well as the Champions League triumph and made them title contenders.
"They're both exceptional managers, I've always swayed more towards Jurgen Klopp because he has worked with great resources here but less resources than Pep Guardiola, the style of play is more towards how I see football," he told the Gary Neville Podcast.
"Pep is an absolute genius, what he's created at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City is unequivocal, incredible but Klopp is a massive personality, a giant of a character.
"I think he connects not just with his players and the staff within the club - that's pretty obvious - but with the city, the language and tone he uses with the fans and to me, that's what a great manager does. They do more than play just great football, they do more than win football matches, do more than just win trophies - they impact people's lives on a daily basis, weekly basis and I think Klopp does that."
He then added that he is going to be a bit selfish as he cannot wait for Klopp to leave Liverpool after nine years. The former right-back also stated that it was the German who turned Liverpool into a team that fights for titles every year.
“I wish he was not the Liverpool manager and I can't wait for him to leave from a selfish perspective because I know whilst he's here, Liverpool stand a great chance of success. If we go back to the start of the season, look at what everybody said about Liverpool and their chances were of winning the title - including my own,” he added.
"The reason that Liverpool are sat there and in with a chance of winning the Premier League title is because of him. He has that capability to be able to drag that extra two percent, three percent out of a player that not many can and that's why he's one of the great leaders."