Jurgen Klopp welcomed Jose Mourinho back to the Premier League and revealed that he had sensed the new Tottenham boss was “desperate” to return to football.
The German also extended his sympathies to Mourinho’s predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, whose five-and-a-half-year reign was unceremoniously ended earlier this week.
Less than 24 hours after Pochettino’s surprise sacking, Mourinho was handed his first job since himself being dismissed by Manchester United midway through last season.
Klopp shared his initial shock at hearing the man who he defeated in the 2019 Champions League final had gone, and explained what he expects from his Spurs successor.
In Pictures | Mourinho's first training session as Tottenham manager
He said: “Welcome back, Jose! Obviously it’s nice to have him back. He was desperate [to come back], you could see in the time when he was not in.
“But on the other side, Mauricio is not there anymore and that shows how quick things change nowadays.
“About five months ago we played each other in the Champions League final and now he is on holiday. I hope he can enjoy it, to be honest.
“He did a brilliant job at Tottenham, nobody doubts that, everybody knows that. He’s an outstanding coach, a great guy.
“ I really enjoyed the games we played against each other; my first game in the Premier League was against him so we have a history together.
“Pretty much all the jobs that are available or not available, Mauricio will be in contention I think.
“Everything will be fine but of course that was a big one - when I heard it first I couldn’t really believe it in the moment, but a couple of hours later they had a solution.
“I really hope that Mauricio can enjoy the few days, weeks, months off, it will not last long. Then he will be back.
“Jose is highest motivated obviously, so that will be interesting as well.”
