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Okay, so I heard this wild bit of news today that totally threw me for a loop. Pep Lijnders, yeah, the same dude who was all-in with Jurgen Klopp over at Liverpool, has jumped ship to become Pep Guardiola’s new sidekick at Manchester City. Can you believe it? I swear, just last year he was like, “Nope, not gonna work with anyone but Klopp.” And now look at him. Life’s weird, huh?
Anyway — wait, no — where was I? Oh right, Liverpool fans are, predictably, not thrilled. I mean, can you blame them? Lijnders was part of those epic Liverpool vs. City battles that had us all biting our nails. So, him popping up at City? Feels kinda like… betrayal, I guess? Or maybe it’s just football being football.
James Pearce, who’s got his ear to the ground when it comes to all things Anfield, mentioned some juiciness. Apparently, a bigwig at Liverpool wasn’t all smiles about it, and some former LFC folks were hit up about Lijnders’ leap to City. Probably for the gossip — who knows?
Get this though, Guardiola rang Adam Lallana up before City’s match with Southampton to get the lowdown on Lijnders. And he even chatted with Klopp! Like, what did Klopp say? Something nice, probably. Gotta keep up appearances, right?
Oh! And Lijnders called Arne Slot, his buddy, about taking the gig. FSG’s Mike Gordon also reached out to say good luck, which is kinda sweet, sort of like saying, “We’re cool, but also… not.” The whole thing feels like an awkward family reunion, honestly.
So, City fans might be dancing in the streets with this news, but let’s face it, Liverpool fans? Probably feel like someone swiped their last slice of pie. It’s this whole rivalry thing, mixed up with Lijnders once saying he’d only work with Klopp. Now he’s over at City, it’s like, does anything mean anything anymore?
And here’s the part that kinda gets under your skin if you’re a Reds fan: Lijnders knows Liverpool inside and out. He’s been part of their DNA for ages. You gotta wonder if he’s got ideas — or secrets — he might spill to help City get one over on his old mates.
I mean, Lijnders can do what he wants, obviously. But man, just picture him celebrating a City win with Haaland or Rodri. That’s probably more than most Liverpool fans can stomach right now.
Fingers crossed we see that Premier League trophy at Anfield again next year, instead of Etihad. But who knows, right? At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything.
