The 47-year-old Dutchman won Liverpool's 20th league title in his first season, finishing 2024-25 with a record-equalling points tally and earning the LMA Manager of the Year award. His second campaign produced a fifth-place Premier League finish with 60 points — their lowest tally since the 2015-16 season and 25 points behind champions Arsenal.
Liverpool remained in Champions League contention throughout, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition and qualifying for next season's edition, but the trajectory was deemed insufficient.
In an official club statement, Liverpool confirmed the dismissal: "Liverpool FC can confirm Arne Slot is to depart his role as head coach with immediate effect and that the process to appoint a successor is under way. Having joined the club in June 2024, Arne went on to deliver our 20th league title in his first season in charge, ending the 2024-25 campaign as LMA Manager of the Year having also guided the team to the Carabao Cup final and the last 16 of the Champions League. He subsequently oversaw Champions League qualification for a second successive season in 2025-26 as the Reds also reached the quarter-finals of the same competition."
The ownership group's joint statement acknowledged the weight of the decision.
"That this was a difficult decision for us to make as a club goes without saying. 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. As such, our appreciation for everything he has achieved could not be greater, particularly as it was underpinned by a work ethic, a diligence and a level of expertise which further underlined our view that he is a leader in his field."
They continued: "From the moment that we first encountered Arne, it was immediately clear that he is an individual who does not merely accept responsibility, he embraces it. At the same time, we have collectively come to the conclusion that change is necessary in order for the club to keep moving forward. 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."
Slot responded to the news through transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano. "It's been an amazing ride together with Liverpool. I am so grateful that we were able to win the league last season."
The club's internal position is that a more aggressive, front-foot style of play is needed — a return to the energy that defined Jürgen Klopp's era. Andoni Iraola, who leaves Bournemouth this summer having transformed the south coast club, is understood to be the frontrunner for the vacancy.
The ownership noted Slot's leadership through one of the most painful moments of the season — the death of midfielder Diogo Jota in a road traffic accident in December — describing the compassion he showed as saying "a great deal about him as a person."
"Arne leaves with our gratitude, with a Premier League title to his name, and with the knowledge that he and his family will always be welcomed back at Anfield."