Dear Pep Guardiola

From a devout Liverpool fan in the bitter Northeast United States, thank you.

You might be wondering reading this letter as to why a Liverpool fan is thanking you, for anything. Your confusion is justified. At the helm of Manchester City, you have been the epitome of Liverpool’s failures for the past three and a half seasons. For that, I thank you.

From being atop us by a humiliating 25 points in the 2017–2018 campaign, to crushing every Scouser’s heart last year on the last day of the season against Brighton. As Liverpool had the lead against Wolves, Glenn Murray scored miraculously for Brighton in the 27th minute. If everything remained still, for only one hour, Liverpool would have brought home their first Premier League title; more importantly their first top-flight title in 29 years. But that would have been too easy. For that, I thank you.

Countless times I have screamed through the television, “You bald fucking fraud!”. Standing there, in your grey peacoat and oil-funded transfer budget. Oh, the anger you brought out in me. At the peak of your powers, you demolished our side 5–0 at the Etihad; you ran us off the park. It is still one of the only times I was not sure, if a man I adore in Jurgen Klopp, could bring Liverpool back to the promise land. For that, I thank you.

Before our heavyweight contest at Anfield this fall you said, “Sometimes Mane is diving, sometimes he has this talent to score incredible goals in the last minute”. I thought it was extremely hypocritical, arrogant, and maybe even a bit ignorant. You were just trying to get under our skin. For that, I thank you.

Every team you have ever coached has been world class. From Barcelona to Bayern Munich and now to Manchester City; every one of them has been annoyingly brilliant. I have said for years you were nothing more than a coach made by your playing career. A transfer merchant, backed by clubs with never-ending pockets of cash. I was shockingly wrong; you were the fuel Liverpool needed to ignite a fire around Anfield. For that, I thank you.

Greeting the Manchester City bus for our Champions League quarterfinal in Liverpool was absolutely unforgettable. The songs, smoke, flares. I was not there, but I felt like I was. A three-nil victory which followed, highlighted by an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rocket that could have put Elon Musk on Mars. In the same season, a 4–3 classic at Anfield saw Liverpool beat the previously undefeated City. The tides were starting to turn. For that, I thank you.

I was sitting on my couch on the sixth of May, when Vincent Kompany hit a wonder strike for City to beat Leicester as the Premier League was coming to a close. The next night Liverpool had to face Barcelona in the Champions League, down 3–0 from the previous leg; a feat that is only overcome in the new edition of FIFA. Fast forward to the first of June, when Liverpool lifted their sixth European Cup, spurred on by the agonizing thought of your team lifting another trophy. For that, I thank you.

Now, Liverpool are UEFA Super Cup Champions, European Champions, World Champions, and soon-to-be, Champions of England; winning the league by 25 points. Oh, how the times have changed. It turns out, you were just the fire we needed all along, and you gave it to us. For that Pep, I thank you.

Sincerely,

One of your biggest critics