Kostas Tsimikas has revealed what Pep Guardiola said to him following their bizarre confrontation during Liverpool's defeat at Manchester City last month.
City boss Guardiola celebrated Julian Alvarez’s equaliser during his team's 4-1 win at the Etihad in wild fashion on the touchline before trying to joke with Reds substitutes Tsimikas and Arthur Melo as the pair returned to the bench from their warm-ups.
The Catalan was quizzed on the incident afterwards and said: "I speak with Tsimikas. You people say it is a lack of respect. Ask him if I lack respect. I celebrate a goal."
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And the Liverpool left-back has now detailed what he was told by Guardiola by way of explanation for the incident.
"He said to me 'sorry, I didn't do it to offend you, I did it because we scored a very good goal'," said Tsimikas. "And I told him that I would do worse things if we scored in front of you, so there is no problem."
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview to Greek publication Gazzetta, Tsimikas also discussed the impact of Darwin Nunez at Liverpool following his summer move from Benfica and the problems the striker has faced through not being able to speak English on his arrival.
Asked if Nunez was a player the Reds could rely on to spearhead the attack, Tsimikas said: "If he works, first with the team and then the team with him and believes in him, yes. Because it is difficult for a footballer who comes from Uruguay and does not speak any English, does not know a word, to come to an English team and play.
"But Darwin, so far as we speak, has 15 goals and five assists I think, so certainly the team, if they work with him and show him the plans and how he needs to be on the pitch, they can rely on him. Uruguayan footballers are fighters, yes. They are the crazies in this case! Especially if they are also strikers, they are even more enthusiastic."
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