Jurgen Klopp's comments about Unai Emery tell all there is to know about why Newcastle United's owners wanted Unai Emery to take over at St. James' Park. The Villareal boss was publicly courted to become Steve Bruce's successor on Tyneside, but the Spaniard opted against the move.
The pursuit of Emery caused a stir in Spain, with the approach coming before a crunch clash with Manchester United in the Champions League group stages. The 50-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football after winning the Europa League four times, guiding the Yellow Submarine to it's first trophy in years.
Emery has proven himself time and time again in his native country, but a stint with Arsenal remains a blemish on his career. The Spaniard is still believed to want to manage in the Premier League once more, but is creating quite the legacy with Villareal - recently knocking out Bayern Munich in the Champions League to set up a semi-final clash with Liverpool.
READ MORE: Who is Gleison Bremer? The Brazilian defender attracting Newcastle's attention
Speaking to the press after qualifying for the Champions League semi-final, Klopp said: "Both games, Villareal deserved to get through. Analyse them, you watch the game to try to figure out both teams, with real quality and Villareal has probably the best cup-competition manager in world football.
"He knows what he's doing and the team is really strong. Two different approaches away and at home. It was clear they defended more in Munich than they did at Villareal.
"It will be really difficult. But, it's the semi-final of the Champions League if it wasn't difficult something would be really wrong."
