Mohamed Salah’s message to Pep Guardiola: The Champions League is football’s ‘biggest competition’

(CNN) — Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has a message for Manchester City director Pep Guardiola — the Champions League is football’s»biggest contest»
It’s often argued that Guardiola’s stewardship of City will be quantified by the team winning its first Champions League name, even though the Catalan recently said he’d select winning the English Premier League over European success.
Talking to reporters earlier this month, Guardiola likened Liverpool’s Champions League triumph with a visit to the casino, even comparing it with all the spin of roulette wheel.
Though the Premier League involves playing 38 games from national competitions, Liverpool played with 13 matches to win the Champions League, emerging from a group containing Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, before beating Bayern Munich, Porto, Barcelona and Tottenham.
Guardiola, that won the Champions League twice as trainer of Barcelona, insisted the Premier League has been»the most important thing, » the stand-out competition, as it’s every weekend» As a coach Guardiola last won the Champions League in 2011.
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But Salah, that believed Liverpool’s opening goal in the 2-0 win over Tottenham at the Champions League final in Madrid, disagrees with the Spaniard, claiming the prestige of winning the competition trumps England’s national crown.
«Honestly, I didn’t understand that he (Guardiola) explained that, however I believe if you give him a choice to choose that one, he would pick the Champions League,» Salah told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an exclusive interview in the club’s Melwood training ground.
«That is my view. I’m not speaking about him, but my opinion. It’s the largest competition in football, so everybody wants to win it.
«Every coach, every player wants to win it, dreams of winning . So of course the Premier League also is something big, but still the Champions League is the biggest competition»
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While free about Liverpool’s Champions League success, Guardiola publicly questioned why City’s domestic depreciation failed to inspire additional adulation.
And while City celebrated another successive Premier League title, Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham at June’s Champions League final took centre stage.
«Honestly, it was amazing,» Salah said of his team’s Champions League success. «It’s a dream for everyone, the city, the players, to win a Champions League is something really great and something really big.
«So everybody was having that particular moment. I had been really feeling like a kid whose dream comes true»
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Premier League rivalry
City and Liverpool seems set to resume hostilities in this season’s Premier League title race with Guardiola’s men aiming for a third consecutive domestic crown.
Not since 1990, two decades before the advent of the Premier League, has Liverpool been crowned as champion of England’s best division.
And its activity does not look like getting easier any time soon.
Separated by only a single point last term, City has invested large in the transfer market with all the #62.8 million ($76 million) signing of midfielder Rodri from Atletico Madrid, in addition to splashing #60 million ($72.4 million) on Portuguese guardian Joao Cancelo.
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The two teams won their opening matches of the new season convincingly with Liverpool thrashing Norwich 4-1 and City crushing West Ham 5-0 in east London.
But while City sits at home on Wednesday night planning for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham, Liverpool is in Istanbul for its European Super Cup final.
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The game, which is held yearly between the winners of the Champions League and also Europa League, pits Liverpool contrary to English rival Chelsea.
«I really like these matches,» Salah said ahead of the tie in Turkey.
«Big games plus a last game… they need to win with a new trainer and we also want to acquire it,» added Salah, speaking to Chelsea’s new director Frank Lampard.

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