Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Jurgen Klopp as 'inspiring' ahead of the Liverpool manager's milestone weekend.
Saturday's Premier League clash with Chelsea will be the Reds boss' 1,000 match in management and see him join the likes of Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Bill Shankly and Carlo Ancelotti as figures to have reached such an astonishing landmark.
Speaking on behalf of the League Manager's Association, the former Old Trafford boss praised the success of Klopp during his 22-year career.
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"I'm delighted to welcome Jurgen Klopp to the LMA 1000 club," said Ferguson. "Jurgen is undoubtedly one of the most gifted managers in world football and the dedication and passion which Jurgen brings to the role is inspiring to anyone aspiring to a career in football management.
"The many trophies he has already won in his career, including in recent seasons the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, confirm his status amongst football's elite."
While Ferguson and Klopp never faced one another during their overlapping time in management, they have established a mutual respect for one another in the years since the German has taken over the reins at Anfield.
In fact, It was revealed that once the Reds had ended their 30-year wait for a Premier League title in the summer of 2020, the Liverpool boss accidentally woke up the 81-year-old while replying to a congratulations text he had sent him a few hours earlier.
“The problem was that I came back late in my room that night and I couldn’t sleep immediately so I went through the messages I got and one of them was from Alex Ferguson,” recalled Klopp in 2020. “I just replied in a very polite way I think. It was about 3.30am-4am and I didn’t expect him to have his phone next to his bed. I didn’t want to wake him up. If that happened then sorry Alex!
“But since then we have not been in contact. He is still the former Man United manager and I don’t think he wants to talk to me too much about the success of Liverpool.
“He respects it but it’s not his favourite thing to watch on television!”
In his seven-and-a-half years at Liverpool. Klopp has lifted every major trophy available having won the Premier League, Champions League Cup, FA Cup, Super Cup, Club World Cup and Community Shield.
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