Liverpool part ways with Arne Slot with immediate effect

Arne Slot has been sacked as Liverpool head coach.

The decision has been taken by owner Fenway Sports Group after Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League with just 60 points, their lowest total for a decade.

Andoni Iraola is now considered the clear favourite for the role, having finished his final season at Bournemouth with a club-first qualification to the Europa League.

Slot won the Premier League in his first season in charge, only to fall to fifth this term with 19 defeats in all competitions, 12 league losses in comparison to only four the term before. His dismissal brings to an end the Dutchman’s two-year reign since he was appointed as Jurgen Klopp’s successor in the summer of 2024.

A joint statement from Liverpool’s owners on Saturday confirmed the decision, saying it was “necessary” and “the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction”.

“That this was a difficult decision for us to make as a club goes without saying,” it read. “The contribution Arne has made to Liverpool FC in the time that he has been with us has been significant, meaningful and – most importantly of all to supporters and ourselves – successful.

“At the same time, we have collectively come to the conclusion that change is necessary in order for the club to keep moving forward.

“As such, we can only wish Arne well in the next stage of his coaching career, with our expectation being that he will continue to be successful. We do so in the knowledge that his Liverpool legacy is intact and will become yet more meaningful in the years and decades to come.

“Nevertheless, the conclusion we have come to is built on a belief that the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction. That does not diminish the work Arne has done here, or the respect we have for him. Nor is it a reflection of his talents. Rather, it is indicative of the need for a different approach.”

How did we get here?

Slot had to deal with the tragic loss of forward Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain last July and there were problems integrating new signings following a £440million spending spree, the biggest outlay in a single window in the club’s history. Established stars such as Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister lost their way, while a succession of damaging injury setbacks also played their part in a torrid run of results.

However, what was most damaging for Slot in the eyes of the owners was Liverpool’s loss of identity on the field as their performances repeatedly lacked both tempo and intensity.

The dull brand of football contributed to a mood of negativity at Anfield with Slot booed and jeered by supporters during what proved to be the penultimate home game of his reign against Chelsea.

A Liverpool manager hadn’t faced that level of dissent at Anfield since the final throes of Roy Hodgson’s reign in 2010-11.

Having stuck by him throughout a turbulent campaign, it had looked like salvaging Champions League qualification might earn him the chance to put right what had gone so wrong. But FSG CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes ultimately decided that a change was required following this week’s end of season review.

‘A shame it ended this way’

Analysis by Liverpool correspondent Andy Jones

This is not the way anybody envisaged Arne Slot’s second season ending when he was preparing to lift the Premier League title 12 months ago.

Results and performances have been well below standards and while Liverpool are in position to qualify for the Champions League next season, they have done so in fifth and with a whimper.

Unrest among the fanbase has been growing. Many had decided his fate when Liverpool lost nine matches in 12 in the autumn, a run which included three consecutive damaging defeats to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and PSV – all by a three-goal margin.

Slot can point to a number of mitigating factors, beginning with the tragic death of Diogo Jota last summer, as well as injuries, new signings taking time to settle and the underperformance of key players.

Liverpool have been hamstrung by the absence of their four most important attackers through injury in recent weeks, but there has been little sign of improvement as the season draws to a close and the pointed statement from Mohamed Salah, which was liked by a number of his teammates, last weekend was a sign that his position was becoming untenable.

Liverpool’s hierarchy have stood behind the head coach all season, but the supporters’ discontent meant it would have been a huge risk to head into next season with Slot still in charge. Even though he was confident he could solve the problems of this season with the help of another busy transfer window, one or two poor results early on would have plunged him straight back into trouble.

Slot’s achievement of winning the Premier League in his first season should not be forgotten. It was also not a ‘fluke’, as he took the team left by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp and made the collective, and individuals better. It is a shame it has ended this way.

‘Ran out of answers’

Analysis by senior football writer Oliver Kay

For weeks, the messaging from Liverpool was consistent and emphatic: total support and total backing for Arne Slot, the coach who led them to the Premier League title in his first campaign in charge.

Even as frustration and the criticism grew in the final weeks of Slot’s difficult second season, club executives insisted there was no appetite for change, citing various mitigating factors in the coach’s defence.

But behind the denials and the public support was a growing realisation that Slot’s position was becoming unsustainable. This season has been fraught with difficulties and relationships with the club’s fanbase and some of his players — not just the departing Mohamed Salah — has become strained.

In some ways his dismissal feels harsh. Slot’s initial appointment in succession to Jurgen Klopp was a masterstroke, taking the team to greater heights as they won the Premier League title last year with four games to spare. As the club’s statement on Saturday spelt out, “that accomplishment — made all the more remarkable as it arrived in his very first season in charge — was built on outstanding coaching and leadership every single day.”

But in year two he ran out of answers. While there were indeed mitigating factors — above all the psychological impact of the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash last July — and while a £450million spending spree last summer left gaps in the squad, Liverpool frequently looked like a team in disarray,.

The front-runner to replace Slot is Andoni Iraola, who has left Bournemouth after guiding them to sixth place in the Premier League. Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes hired Iraola for Bournemouth in 2023 and has maintained a close relationship with him as well as his agent Inaki Ibanez.

Liverpool were unmoved by their availability of their former midfielder Xabi Alonso, another Ibanez client, who was recently appointed by Chelsea. Iraola always seemed a more likely candidate if, as has now happened, Slot’s contract were terminated.

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