Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has hailed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as a father figure to him.

The German spent several years under Klopp’s management at Borussia Dortmund and achieved plenty of success.

However, the midfielder revealed that he chose to join Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium when he made the switch to the Premier League last summer because he was drawn to the Spaniard’s philosophy.

“Klopp loved me, but I decided to go with Guardiola because his philosophy was very similar to my game,” he told Sport Arena Plus.

Gundogan also declared the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss as the best in the world.

“Klopp is like a father to me. Guardiola is a genius, and a teacher, he’s the best coach in the world.”

The 27-year-old also revealed that he was close to joining Barcelona at one stage.

“I was very close to signing for Barcelona, but at the end, it didn’t happen.

“But now I am where I want to be and I am very happy.”