Pep Lijnders: Jurgen Klopp urged me to take the job of Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City

“You can’t get rid of 10 years of Liverpool that easily, but I’m really proud to come to a club of this size, so successful over the last 10 years and with a coach who has defined football.”

Lijnders initially arrived at Liverpool as a development coach under former boss Brendan Rodgers in 2014, but left in 2018 to manage Dutch side NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie.

However, he was sacked at the end of the season, so he returned to Anfield to become Klopp’s assistant in 2019 following the departure of Zeljko Buvac.

His spell at Austrian club Salzburg lasted just 29 games, and while his move to City raised some eyebrows, Lijnders said Guardiola’s offer was too good to refuse.

“Pep is great, of course,” Lijnders said. “He has a passion and understanding of the game from a different planet, in my opinion.”

“The moment Pep called, it felt good straight away. It wasn’t a difficult decision.”

City occupies second place in the English Premier League, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, and will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (16:30 GMT).

Lijnders then returns to Anfield next weekend as City take on defending champions Liverpool, where he said he will remain professional but his “mentality is to win and try to beat them”.