Feyenoord coach Arne Slot confirmed on Friday that he will be taking over as Liverpool’s manager next season, succeeding Jurgen Klopp.
“There hasn’t been an official announcement yet-but I don’t think it will come as news to you that I will be coach there next season,” Arne Slot told reporters.
BBC reported last month that Arne Slot’s contract is valued at up to 10.9 million euros.
“The feeling that I’m leaving here is getting stronger. There are some people you don’t simply just want to shake hands with,” Arne Slot said ahead of his last game at the club.
“At those times, it’s not about whether you have become a champion or won the cup, but more about the appreciation between people,” he added.
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Arne Slot joined Feyenoord in 2021 after impressing at AZ Alkmaar.
He guided Feyenoord in his first season to the Europa Conference League final where they narrowly lost 1-0 to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
Arne Slot then secured just the club’s second league title in 24 years last season, before signing a new three-year deal.
“You can see people are genuinely sorry you are leaving,” he said. “You can say that with words, but when you see it in people’s faces, it affects me quite a lot.”
The club’s website announced that a farewell party is being organized at the raucous De Kuip stadium following Slot’s final game against Excelsior.
Feyenoord have enjoyed a successful season, winning the Dutch Cup and finishing second to a dominant PSV Eindhoven side with one game remaining.
Arne Slot has only lost two league games this season.
“If we win on Sunday, we will have 84 points and will be the second best Feyenoord team in club history,” he remarked.
Under Slot’s tutelage, Feyenoord has thrilled fans at De Kuip with an attacking style of football, earning praise from Jurgen Klopp himself.
“I like the way his team plays football. If he is the one, I like that he wants it,” Klopp told reporters last month.
“It’s the best job in the world, best club in the world. Great job, great team, fantastic people. A really interesting job,” Klopp said.
Liverpool captain and fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk has also praised Slot’s attacking mindset, saying that it would align well with the philosophy at Anfield.
“I think the way of playing and the philosophy he has, that he could be a Liverpool coach,” Van Dijk said.
A fan of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Slot was a slick forward known for his precise passing during his playing days-so much so that he has a move named after him.
The “Arne Slot Pass” is a slight deflection from a forward with his back to goal, splitting the defense and releasing a winger running off the ball.
Jurgen Klopp will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of this season after a nine-year tenure, during which he secured the Champions League title in 2019 and the Premier League trophy in 2020.
Bayer Leverkusen boss and former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso was the favorite to succeed Kloop. However, Alonso has decided to remain at Leverkusen leading them to their first-ever Bundesliga title.
