Klopp and Guardiola’s sides were the standout teams of last season’s English Premier League as they stood head and shoulders above the others in one of the most enthralling title races ever witnessed.
Guardiola’s Manchester City ultimately pipped Klopp’s Liverpool by a point to the league title, also adding the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in a clean sweep of domestic trophies while the Reds were crowned Champions of Europe for a sixth time.
The two sides will meet again in next season’s curtain raiser; the Community Shield on August 4, but both might be missing key players for the fixture as a result of international commitments over the summer leading to the two managers moaning about the situation.
For Pep Guardiola, his South American contingent of Sergio Aguero, Nicholas Otamendi, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus have missed the start of pre-season while Riyad Mahrez’s season finished barely a week ago after leading Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations glory in Egypt.
“Some of them will come on the 29th or 30th; the others will come in three or four weeks,” Guardiola said.
“It’s a crazy schedule and it is going to kill our players! We cannot sustain that for a long time.
“They have to breath and rest and give more quality in the tournaments. They have to rest.”
Klopp echoed his counterpart’s sentiments, calling for changes for the benefit of the players.
“We sit here and it sounds like I am having a moan or whatever. It is just the situation, in the long-term, is not acceptable,” Klopp said.
“It looks like nobody can imagine a week without football in the year. When did that happen? A game again, a game again.
“It is difficult, difficult for the boys. Everything will be fine this season. But in the long-term? We have to change it.
“There must be breaks. Come on, let them go. Be brave. Don’t treat every game like it is the last of a decade.”
