Jurgen Klopp revealed he has not spoken with Ralf Rangnick since his appointment as Manchester United’s interim manager.
Rangnick is a hugely influential figure in German football, employing a similar high-pressing style to that which made Klopp a success with Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and now Liverpool.
The pair are now on opposite sides of English football’s biggest rivalry, though, with Klopp’s quadruple-chasing Liverpool set to host United on Tuesday.
It will be the 14th meeting between the two coaches, with Klopp winning only two of the prior 13, losing five and drawing the other six.
Asked how his relationship with Rangnick was ahead of the match at Anfield, Klopp replied: “On hold.
“No, we didn’t have contact since he was at United. I think that’s mutual respect. I respect his job; he respects my job.
“I cannot make it a Klopp-Rangnick or Rangnick-Klopp game, I don’t want to. I respect him for everything he did during his career – he did incredible jobs wherever he was.
“He took a difficult one at United, that’s clear. There’s big expectations with these things, big expectations but no time to get there. In our business, it’s like this.
“You can see the changes he made and the parts he improved, but that’s it. When I prepared the United game, I didn’t think about Ralf in that moment. You watch the games and you prepare for this team.
“It’s not about Ralf or me; it’s a very important football game, a very, very important football game. The managers probably will not score the decisive goal.”
This has been a difficult season for United, with Rangnick set to be replaced by a permanent appointment at the end of the campaign. Erik ten Hag is the favourite.
But United have still earned 33 points in Rangnick’s 18 Premier League games in charge, the fourth-most in the division in that time. Liverpool and Manchester City are tied at the top of that table on 42 points.
“United played some really, really good games [under Rangnick],” Klopp added, “but because it’s United, even when you win the games, it’s ‘but that’s still not there, it’s not like this’.
“It’s difficult to gain some momentum, I can imagine.”
