Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been named the LMA Manager of the Year award after guiding Liverpool to their first league title since 1990.
Klopp beat Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth and last season’s winner Chris Wilder to the award named after legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
In a personal message to Klopp after announcing him as the winner on Sky Sports News, Sir Alex said: “Jurgen, fantastic. We speak about Leeds spending 16 years in the Championship, but Liverpool 30 years since winning that league, incredible.
“You thoroughly deserved it, but the performance level of your team was outstanding. Your personality runs right throughout the whole club. It was a marvellous performance.
“I’ll forgive you for waking me up at 3.30am to tell me you have won the league! Thank you, but anyway, you thoroughly deserved it. Well done.”
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Liverpool boss Klopp vividly recalled meeting Sir Alex for the first time and said he could never have imagined receiving a trophy bearing the name of the five-time former LMA winner.
“I’m absolutely delighted to get this wonderful trophy, it’s really wonderful,” Klopp said on Sky Sports News.
“I saw who won it before, some really big, big Liverpool names involved – not only Liverpool names – like Bill Shankly I think, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny [Dalglish] whose name seems to be all over the trophy.
“But the name on this is Sir Alex Feguson’s and I know it’s not 100 per cent appropriate as Liverpool manger but I admire him, not to say I love him.
“He was the first British manager I met and we had breakfast together. I’m not sure if he remembers it but I remember it still because in this moment it was for me like meeting the pope if you want. It was absolutely great and from the first moment we really clicked.
“I wouldn’t have thought one day I would be holding a trophy in my hands that was named after him.”
Meanwhile award for Barclays Premier League Manager of the Year will be announced separately at the start of August.
