Arrigo Sacchi may have been one of the great managerial innovators but even he is impressed by the top coaching talent in the Premier League.

The English top flight is blessed with the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino and there have been comparisons between those coaches and Sacchi himself.

But, speaking to Sportsmail, Sacchi — who managed AC Milan to consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990 — is convinced that the likes of Guardiola and Klopp have moved the game along even further.

Asked whether they can be considered his managerial ‘sons’, Sacchi laughed and replied: ‘I have only daughters!

‘Their football is similar to mine and I really appreciate their values, culture and mentality. My Milan team innovated, the teams of Guardiola and Klopp continue to innovate.’

Klopp gave a speech to his players before their Champions League final win, telling his players: ‘If we lose, it must be the best defeat possible. We must give everything’.

And Sacchi saw echoes of his own philosophy.

‘In my book there are many similar phrases that I loved to say before taking the field.

‘I’ve always loved instilling my players with the desire to go beyond their own limits. In my notes I wrote: “Victory is important when it is amplified and helped by the beauty of the game”.’

On both Klopp and Guardiola, he added: ‘They think like me. We have the duty to make the public enjoy football, to be excited by it. Making great football is more difficult than talking about it.