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Slot sacked after fifth
Liverpool sacked Arne Slot as head coach on Saturday after the club finished fifth in the Premier League with 60 points, their lowest total for a decade.
“Liverpool have parted ways with Arne Slot, the Merseyside club said, after the manager who won the Premier League title in his first season failed to live up to expectations as they finished fifth”
The decision was taken by owner Fenway Sports Group, and the club said the change was “necessary” and that “the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction”.
Slot’s two-year reign ended after he succeeded Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2024, won the Premier League in his first season, and then suffered 19 defeats in all competitions (20 counting the Community Shield).
The Athletic’s analysis in The New York Times said Slot’s second season had turned into a “disappointing” title defence that left Liverpool in position to qualify for the Champions League but “with a whimper in fifth”.
The New York Times also tied the downturn to the loss of forward Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain last July and to problems integrating new signings after a £450million spending spree.
Iraola linked as successor
Liverpool confirmed that it had parted ways with Slot with a club statement saying “the process to appoint a successor is under way,” after Slot’s two seasons in charge.
The club’s ownership said “That this was a difficult decision for us to make as a club goes without saying,” while also describing Slot’s contribution as “successful” and saying change was necessary to keep moving forward.
In parallel, Fabrizio Romano reported on his SNS that “Liverpool and Slot have decided to part ways. It is effective immediately,” and Sports Chosun said Andoni Iraola was emerging as the top candidate.
Sports Chosun added that Iraola had led Bournemouth to 6th place in the 2025-2026 season to secure a Europa League spot for the next season, and it said Iraola had since parted ways with Bournemouth.
The Liverpool Echo reported Slot’s response to the sacking via Fabrizio Romano, quoting Slot saying: “It's been an amazing ride together with Liverpool, I am so grateful that we were able to win the league last season.”
What comes next for Liverpool
With Slot gone, the next phase for Liverpool includes squad and leadership decisions, as Sky Sports said Ibrahima Konate is leaving for free after failing to agree new terms and that it leaves Slot short at centre-back.
Sky Sports reported Konate, 27, will leave on July 1 for free, and it said Liverpool’s defensive options include a 34-year-old Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and youngsters Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet.
Mohamed Salah’s future is also in focus, with Football365 saying Salah could consider a U-turn over his decision to leave Liverpool after Slot’s sacking, and it quoted Salah’s earlier claim that he had been “thrown under the bus” by Slot in December.
Football365 also said Salah questioned the team after the 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa on May 15, asking about “crumbling to yet another defeat” and calling for everyone who joins the club to adopt its “heavy metal” style.
Sky Sports framed the timing as an added challenge for the under-fire head coach, noting that Liverpool must address gaps in the forward line created by Salah’s departure and Hugo Ekitke’s Achilles injury, which it said will keep him out for most of 2026.
