Dejan Lovren Wants Liverpool to Mimic Dominance of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona

Dejan Lovren has said he wants Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to be "remembered as one of the best teams" in world football and rival the success of Pep Guardiola's famous Barcelona side. 

The now-Manchester City coach won 14 trophies while he was Barcelona manager between 2008 and 2012, with his teams classed as some of the best in the sport's history.

Lovren, 30, spoke to Sky Sports News at a club event at Anfield promoting Safer Internet Day 2019:

The Croatia international—who joined Liverpool from Southampton in July 2014—said he's "been there from the beginning" alongside Klopp, and the Reds' current success is a culmination of their hard work: 

"Let's say, we clicked this year—maybe even last year—but we missed out by one point.

"Now we understand each other, what we need, what we want. And I especially want, that we are remembered maybe like the Barcelona team that won in four years [around] 20 trophies.

"Why should we not do that? I think we can do it, and I want that we are remembered as one of the best teams that have played—not only for this year, but for many, many years."

Guardiola, 49, had the advantage of inheriting a homegrown corps that included the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol, to name a few.

His trophy haul across that four-year tenure included three league titles, two UEFA Champions Leagues and two Copa del Rey crowns.

Klopp has mostly had to shape his own dynasty at Anfield, and the Merseysiders are on course to lift their first top-flight trophy in 30 years after building a 22-point lead over second-place City.

Liverpool splashed more than £230 million on the combined signatures of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Naby Keita and Fabinho in 2018, though they've since curtailed their spending, per the CIES Football Observatory:

The Reds set a new record for the best start to a season by any team in Europe's top five leagues in January when they accumulated 61 points from their first 21 games of the campaign. The Reds haven't dropped a Premier League point since then and extended their record to 73 points from 25 games.

It was in December that the club won their maiden FIFA Club World Cup, capping a prestigious 2019 that included the club's sixth European title and a UEFA Super Cup.

Guardiola's City, meanwhile, recently suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since December 2018. A successful Premier League title defence looks all but impossible given the gap at the top, and his side have displayed a rare vulnerability:

Lovren is fourth choice in the centre-back rotation behind Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, but it's emblematic of Klopp's all-inclusive atmosphere that the Croatian is so motivated to help the cause.

Liverpool finished with 60 Premier League points in the 2015-16 Premier League season—in which Klopp was appointed midway through—but ended the 2018-19 campaign with 97 to their names (one fewer than champions City).

Klopp's men are well on their way to eclipsing that mark and numerous records along the way this term, though the boss likely won't be looking much further than Saturday's league visit to Norwich City.