Al-Sulaiti reveals why he declined to coach the Dutch national team
Arne Slot, the former manager of the English football club Liverpool, confirmed that he held talks about taking charge of the Dutch national team but withdrew from the negotiations because he wants his next role to be wi
Translated by Alqyas from Al-Jarida — Original source
Arne Slot, the former manager of the English football club Liverpool, confirmed that he held talks about taking charge of the Dutch national team but withdrew from the negotiations because he wants his next role to be with a club.
The BBC reported that Slot, 47, led Liverpool to their 20th league title in their history in his first season with the club, but finished last season in fifth place and was dismissed on May 30.
Ronald Koeman resigned from his second stint as manager of the Dutch national team after the Netherlands were eliminated from the World Cup by Morocco in the round of 32 on penalties in June.
Slot denied reports suggesting he withdrew from talks with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) due to a disagreement over contract details.
Speaking to Football International magazine, Slot said: “Over the past few weeks, particularly the last few days, various reports have emerged regarding the position of manager of the Dutch national team, claiming that I withdrew from the negotiation process after lengthy talks, including regarding salary and contract length. These speculations are incorrect. Simply put, we did not reach that stage in the negotiations.”
Slot, who won the Dutch league title with Feyenoord in 2023, did not rule out taking charge of the Dutch national team in the future.
He added: “At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with players on a daily basis. That is simply not possible when managing any national team. For this reason, I preferred not to continue the negotiations and not to start talks about the potential contract structure.”
He emphasized: “I have great respect for the national team and for the KNVB, and I can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week. It would be a great honor to represent my country as a national team manager one day. However, this is not the right time for me.”
According to news reports, Roberto Martinez, the former manager of the Portuguese national team, is in negotiations with the KNVB.
