Pep Guardiola on his 1,000th game: ‘Dedication, passion, love – in that nobody beats me’

Pep Guardiola will manage his 1,000th game when Manchester City host Liverpool on Sunday, with the manager thanking “the universe” for having the perfect opponent to mark the milestone.

In 999 matches leading Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, Guardiola has earned 715 victories, a win-rate of 71.57%, and claimed a staggering 39 trophies. While the 54-year-old agrees with Sir Alex Ferguson that his success has somewhat depended on having outstanding players, Guardiola believes his own stellar qualities are behind his longevity and success.

“Dedication, passion, love – in that nobody beats me,” he said. “We have won incredible things in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here. It is difficult to reach and if I start again I would not reach it, it is too much games. A few defeats in 1,000 games and hopefully on Sunday I hope we can continue.

“I completely agree with Sir Alex. It looks like I have false humility but this amount – every 10 games we win seven and will draw one or two – it can happen because you are in Barcelona, Munich and Manchester with the players I have.”

Of Liverpool, Guardiola said: “If I had to choose one rival for this milestone, that would be the best one. Because I’ve been in this country longer than anywhere else. I was at Barcelona as a boy [and player] and Bayern were important [too], but Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country. It could not be better, to be honest – the universe decides that.”

Since the 2017-18 season, either City or Liverpool have won the title, and Guardiola believes this is now the domestic game’s fiercest rivalry. “We created this in the last decade, before it was [Manchester] United-Liverpool with [before] maybe Chelsea, Arsenal,” he said.

Guardiola was asked who he thinks is football’s greatest manager. “There have been [great] managers throughout history. I can say I’ve been part of it because the numbers [show] this,” he said.

Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp’s rivalry was one of the Premier League’s greatest. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

Rodri is likely to be unavailable for Liverpool’s visit. “We’ll see but I think we won’t take the risk with the international break [ahead],” the manager added. “We are still in November, the best part of the season is ahead of us and we need him.”