Key facts
- Arne Slot, 47, withdrew from Netherlands manager talks with the KNVB to focus on club football
- Slot was sacked by Liverpool on 30 May after Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League
- He led Liverpool to the Premier League title (the club’s 20th) in his debut season in 2024-25
- He won the Eredivisie with Feyenoord in 2023 before joining Liverpool
- Netherlands job became vacant after Ronald Koeman quit following a World Cup last-32 penalty-shootout loss to Morocco in June
- Former Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is reportedly now in talks with the KNVB for the Netherlands post
Arne Slot has confirmed he was in discussions to become the next Netherlands manager but pulled out of the process because he wants to remain in club football, according to BBC Sport. The 47-year-old, who was sacked by Liverpool on 30 May after finishing fifth in the Premier League, addressed the reports directly through Dutch outlet Voetbal International.
What Slot said
Slot denied claims that he walked away from talks with the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) following a dispute over salary or contract length. He said reports over the past few weeks suggesting he withdrew after lengthy negotiations on those terms were incorrect, stating that talks never reached that stage. Instead, he said he decided not to proceed to contract negotiations because he currently prefers being on the training pitch with players every day, something he said is not possible in the same way with a national team job. He called the national team role and the KNVB deserving of enormous respect and said the talks that week were handled professionally, but added that club football still has more to offer him at this point in his career.
Background on the vacancy and Slot’s record
The Netherlands job became vacant after Ronald Koeman stepped down from his second spell as national team manager following the Dutch exit from the World Cup, beaten by Morocco on penalties in the last 32 in June. Slot had managed Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2023 before moving to Liverpool, where he replaced Jurgen Klopp in May 2024. In his debut season at Anfield he led Liverpool to their 20th English league title, but the club slipped to fifth in the Premier League the following season, and he was sacked on 30 May.
What’s next
Slot did not close the door on managing the Dutch national team at some point in the future, saying it would be a great honour to represent his country as head coach one day, but that this was not the right moment. According to reports in the Netherlands cited by BBC Sport, former Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is now in talks with the KNVB over the vacancy. No timeline for Slot’s own next club job was given in the reports.
Sources
Featured photo: Carlo Bruil Fotografie via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)