'Out of ideas': Salah and Van Dijk issue damning Arne Slot verdict

Liverpool last weekend decided to part ways with Arne Slot.

The Dutchman, 47, got off to the best possible start as head coach - winning the Premier League title at the first time of asking.

The Reds were expected to dominate for the 2025/26 season - especially after a £450m spending spree last summer. But the Anfield side got worse - not better - during Slot’s sophomore season.

The magic wore off and Liverpool slumped from firth to FIFTH - dropping 24 points from their title-winning total.

Slot also presided over two dismal domestic cup campaigns - featuring eliminations to Crystal Palace and Manchester City. And Paris Saint-Germain took the Merseysiders apart over two legs in the Champions League.

He could not survive his end-of-season review with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes with FSG swinging the axe last weekend.

Andoni Iraola is replacing the former Feyenoord boss in the Anfield dugout - and stories are now beginning to emerge about the dog days of Slot’s reign.

Players credit Klopp for title win

SPORT BILD is carrying an astonishing story which claims Liverpool’s players credited the 2024/25 Premier League title win to the work done by Jurgen Klopp.

Richard Hughes and Slot only added Federico Chiesa to the squad prior to the season starting - meaning the makeup of the team was left relatively untouched.

“While things were going downhill on the pitch (including losing nine out of twelve games in the autumn), the consensus in the dressing room was that Slot's 2025 championship was primarily due to the work of his predecessor, Jürgen Klopp (58/previously in charge for nine seasons),” the report reads.

Van Dijk and Salah lost faith in Slot

The season deteriorated to such an extent that Mohamed Salah pleaded for his £400k per week contract to be torn up.

And the report claims that Salah and Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool’s two dressing room leaders - crucially lost belief in Slot towards the end of his second season.

“Long-serving key players like Mo Salah (33) and Virgil van Dijk (34) noticed Slot running out of ideas,” the report claims.

“Liverpool's attack became predictable, while their defense grew increasingly vulnerable. The proud club hadn't conceded 53 league goals since the 1990s. Many of these came far too easily from long balls or set pieces, including seven in stoppage time.”

The club failed to win any of their final four Premier League games of the season - a run which included pitiful performances against Aston Villa away and Chelsea at home.

Ultimately the tide turned on Arne Slot - leaving Hughes and FSG CEO of Football Edwards with no choice other than to pull the trigger.

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