Arne Slot Sacked by Liverpool After One-Season Collapse, Andoni Iraola Favourite to Replace Him

Liverpool Football Club have terminated the contract of head coach Arne Slot with immediate effect following an end-of-season review, according to respected transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano. The Dutchman’s exit marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a manager who arrived at Anfield just two years ago as the chosen successor to club legend Jürgen Klopp.

Andoni Iraola, currently in charge of Bournemouth, has been identified as the clear favourite to take over as Liverpool’s next head coach, according to Romano’s reporting. The Spaniard has drawn widespread recognition for his tactical acuity during his tenure at the Vitality Stadium, and sources suggest the Anfield hierarchy view him as the right candidate to oversee a rebuilding phase.

Slot’s debut campaign at Liverpool in 2024 appeared to validate the club’s decision to appoint him, as he guided the Reds to a Premier League title — a remarkable achievement in his first season in English football. That success, however, proved difficult to sustain. Despite a summer transfer outlay exceeding £480 million ahead of his second campaign, Liverpool struggled for consistency throughout the season, spending large portions of it outside the top four. The club ultimately secured Champions League qualification only on the final day of the Premier League season.

Central to the narrative surrounding Slot’s exit is his deteriorating relationship with Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, who has also departed Anfield this summer after an extended tenure at the club. Salah was widely credited as a key contributor to Liverpool’s title win in Slot’s first season, but reports indicate the pair’s working relationship broke down irretrievably during the second campaign.

In what proved to be his final press conference as a Liverpool player, Salah delivered a pointed public assessment of Slot’s methods, openly calling for a change in the club’s footballing philosophy and expressing admiration for the high-intensity style associated with the Klopp era. The comments were interpreted by many observers as a direct rebuke of the current manager’s approach.

With Slot now confirmed to have left the club in the same window as Salah’s departure, the sequence of events suggests Liverpool’s leadership sided with the player’s broader critique during their internal review process. The club’s hierarchy now faces the task of appointing a manager capable of restoring the cohesion and attacking momentum that defined Liverpool’s most successful recent years under Klopp, who departed in 2024 after nine seasons.

Slot’s tenure ultimately lasted two seasons — one of significant triumph and one of underachievement relative to the investment made. Liverpool’s £480 million summer spend in 2025 will place additional scrutiny on the incoming manager to extract value from an expensively assembled squad. Iraola, should he be appointed, would be tasked with integrating those recruits while re-establishing Liverpool as consistent title contenders rather than last-day top-four survivors.