PEP the Purist turned Liverpool over in cold blood.
Manchester City had just won their 18th Premier League game in a row at Newcastle when he was asked whether he had been beaten to Virgil van Dijk.
His answer, a couple of hours after the Reds blew their brains out to sign the Dutchman, could not have been more emphatic.
“Nope, no, no, no — not at all,” he replied.
Guardiola did not twitch, did not scratch his stubble and did not appear fussed that the Southampton defender had gone to Anfield.
He wanted to make sure the world knew that City, who turned heads themselves when they signed John Stones for £47.5million in August 2016, were never in the running.
The Saints, smart enough to allow the constant chatter of interest from Chelsea and City to hike up Van Dijk’s price, have done very well out of this deal.
VVD, dropped by Mauricio Pellegrino for the 5-2 defeat against Tottenham on Boxing Day, was no use to them any more.
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Liverpool have done their dough on him, splashing out a world record transfer fee for a defender to shore up their leaky backline.
Reputations are on the line here.
You will be hard pushed to find anyone outside of Anfield who thinks they have just signed the best defender in world football.
The Dutchman is not in the class of Beckenbauer, Costacurta, Baresi, Nesta, Maldini, Terry or Ferdinand, or any of the greats down the years, just yet.
He is not even the best defender in the Premier League. Toby Alderweireld, in the middle of messy contract negotiations at Spurs, will be the biggest beneficiary of this mind-boggling move.
The Belgian can name his price now.
Liverpool have invested heavily in Van Dijk, terrified that Pep would beat them to the punch.
City’s head coach insists it is a call that was never coming.
They already have an injury-prone central defender, with Vincent Kompany out again.
City, with money to spend to strengthen the squad in January, do not need another crock.
Van Dijk, who has struggled for fitness and form during the past year, was not considered good value at £75m.
Klopp is convinced he has finally got his man, pushing for the move after another catastrophic defensive performance in the 3-3 draw with Arsenal just before Christmas.
There is a chance he will make his debut in the FA Cup third-round Merseyside derby that will be televised next Friday. There is no time to settle as a Liverpool player.
Dejan Lovren, one of six players to make the journey from Southampton to Liverpool in the past few years, can testify to that.
He looked every inch a Champions League central defender at St Mary’s.
When he moved to Anfield for £20m it looked like a steal, one of the buys of the summer after bringing in one of the most consistent players in the Premier League.
Look how that turned out.
Van Dijk is desperate to prove himself at the highest level and will get that chance after this statement signing by Liverpool.
It brings back memories of Bill Shankly telling reporters to “take a walk around my centre-half, gentlemen, he’s a colossus”, when he signed Ron Yeats in 1961.
Van Dijk is another imposing figure, a player with vast potential.
The nagging feeling is that they just did not have to pay all that money to get him.
Nathan’s just Dyer
THERE is nothing worse in football than the sight of players and backroom staff laughing away on the bench when the team is getting battered on the pitch.
Nathan Dyer, who sat there cackling as Liverpool scored the third of five goals against Swansea on Boxing Day, should know better.
Leon Britton, his Swansea team-mate, was the poor fella reluctantly shoved into the caretaker role when Paul Clement was sacked after Swans’ 3-1 defeat at Everton.
Britton, who played alongside Dyer during Swansea’s successful years, deserves an apology before new boss Carlos Carvalhal gets cracking.
Jose must mind the gap
ACCEPTING second best has never been the Manchester United way.
It will certainly not improve Jose Mourinho’s mood to know his dressing room admits there is no chance of overhauling Manchester City.
His players, beaten by City at Old Trafford and losing even more ground after draws with Leicester and Burnley, believe that is beyond them.
Although a 15-point gap appears too big to close, the idea a club with United’s traditions should surrender to City before New Year seems remarkable.
Levy fears Erik ‘n Earnings
CHAIRMAN Daniel Levy has always performed a delicate balancing act when it comes to contracts but yet another top club are after one of Spurs’ biggest names.
Christian Eriksen, who dismantled Manchester City in a Champions League game while at Ajax, is on Barcelona’s most-wanted list.
The Dane, 25, signed a new four-year deal in September 2016 and is a key part of the club’s plans.
Keeping him happy will soon become a top priority.
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Roy’s homes and Watson
ROY HODGSON is plotting a Crystal Palace reunion for their former midfielder Ben Watson.
Watson, 32, started his career at Selhurst Park and would love a return to south London after being told he can leave Watford.
While at Wigan he scored the winner against Manchester City in the FA Cup final four years ago.
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