Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho is a nice guy, providing you are not a journalist or a referee.
The Portuguese, already appealing a £50,000 fine and suspended one-match stadium ban for suggesting officials were “afraid” to award his side decisions following the Oct. 3 defeat to Southampton, was this week charged with misconduct after being sent off at West Ham last weekend.
SEE MORE: All of Mouirnho’s disciplinary problems since returning to Chelsea.
Mourinho has raged against authorities and the media for much of the season but Klopp, who knows the Chelsea boss from Champions League encounters when the pair were in charge at Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, insists his public persona is not a true representation of him as an individual.
“When I was in Germany, sometimes we sent short messages (to each other),” he said.
“From my side, I am full of respect for his work. I think if you are not a journalist or a referee he can be a nice guy, and I am not one of these so we have a good talk.
SEE MORE: ‘In Mourinho we trust’: Why Chelsea fans are standing by their Special One.
“I like to meet people and he is a nice guy and he was really full of respect during the game.
“He is emotional, I am emotional but we are full of enough respect after the whistle that normal life starts again and you can talk normally about things that happen and that is what we did.
“Everything is okay with us, no problem.”
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, Women’s World Cup, Euro 2024 & Gold Cup
The New Home of MLS
- Price: $14.99/mo. for MLS Season Pass
- Watch every MLS game including playoffs & Leagues Cup
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $10.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $14.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, Championship, & FA Cup
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $5.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & Brasileirāo
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $5.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season