Arne Slot Explains Why He Rejected Netherlands Manager’s Job

Former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has confirmed that he held talks with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) over the vacant Netherlands manager’s position but decided not to continue with the process.

Arne Slot, 47, said he wants his next challenge to be in club football, where he can work with players daily.

He led Liverpool to their 20th league title in his first season at the club but was sacked on 30 May after the Reds finished fifth in the Premier League.

Ronald Koeman left his second spell as Netherlands manager after the Dutch were eliminated by Morocco on penalties in the last 32 of the World Cup in June.

Slot rejected reports that he pulled out of negotiations because of disagreements over salary or the length of his proposed contract.

“Over the past few weeks, and particularly the past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration,” Slot told Voetbal International. “That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks.”

The former Feyenoord manager, who won the Eredivisie title in 2023, said the decision was based on where he sees himself at this stage of his career.

“At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day. Something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team,” he said.

“And (this is) why I chose not to continue the talks and not to start negotiations on what a possible contract might look like.”

Slot praised the KNVB for the way the discussions were handled and left the door open to managing the Netherlands in the future.

“I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB and can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week,” he said.

“For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.”

He added: “It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me.”

Former Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is reportedly now in talks with the KNVB as the Dutch FA searches for Koeman’s successor.