Jurgen Klopp responds to Pep Guardiola 'not friends' comment and makes Liverpool promise

No matter what transpires at Wembley, come the final whistle Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola will shake hands and then go their separate ways.

It's business, nothing personal. After all, the Premier League two leading managers have more pressing concerns with which to attend as they grapple for supremacy both home and abroad.

"It doesn’t really happen anymore," says Klopp when told of the old traditional of managers meeting up after games to chew the fat over a drink or two. "Us Europeans are just not used to it. We have the room afterwards, but I would never ask afterwards because the players already have been waiting for an hour on the bus for me so I would not have another drink. It happened from time to time, but me and Pep never had a beer afterwards."

Saturday's FA Cup semi-final is the latest chapter of a long-running story between Klopp and Guardiola, who six years ago transferred their Bundesliga tussle to England. Last Sunday's absorbing 2-2 Premier League draw between their teams at the Etihad underlined the difference this campaign has been wafer-thin.

Guardiola said after that game he was not "friends" with his managerial rival, to which Klopp responds: "Our relationship is good but he is right - how can we be friends? We never meet, but we have each other’s number. We had a few of the same personal issues and we shared messages, but we don’t call each other. That is all true. But I know 100% that if we meet in the future, we will definitely sit down. That would be a nice thing to think about.

"Why shouldn’t we? We have no real issues. He smashed me more often than I wished and we could win against his team from time to time. That’s all. There would be something to