'It wasn't obvious!' - Liverpool chairman Tom Werner reveals secret behind hiring Arne Slot as successor to legendary manager Jurgen Klopp

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Reds found themselves in the market for a new head coach when legendary manager Klopp announced his decision to walk away in the summer of 2024. An iconic figure on Merseyside opted to cut his contract short.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Rather than approach one of the so-called biggest names in coaching circles, Liverpool opted to pass their reins to Dutch tactician Slot - who had spent the last three years calling the shots at Eredivisie side Feyenoord.

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WHAT WERNER SAID

Few knew what to expect from the bubbly 46-year-old, but he duly delivered the Premier League title during his debut campaign at Anfield. Werner has told The Times of how the Reds made a couple of huge managerial calls: "At Liverpool I’d like to give a lot of credit to Mike Gordon [FSG president] because we’ve enormously benefited from his wisdom. And we have an awesome chief executive in Billy Hogan. I don’t want to diminish some of our early mistakes, but identifying Jurgen Klopp as our next manager [in 2015] was transformational.

"And then Jurgen had the opportunity to work with Michael Edwards [chief executive of football]. So when he stepped aside - and we were disappointed, obviously, but understood because it’s such a gruelling job — we had all the confidence in the world that Jurgen’s decision would be the right one for him and eventually the club as well.

"Arne Slot was their first choice, and it really came from the homework of Richard Hughes [sporting director] and Michael. It wasn’t an obvious first choice. But if you surround yourself with good talent, you’ll be successful."

DID YOU KNOW?

With Liverpool’s global brand continuing to grow, Werner believes that their fan base may be approaching one billion. He added: "We are very aware of the global power of Liverpool. The club’s reach around the world is by far the strongest in the Premier League. We’re the only Premier League club to surpass 500 million views on television [by March 2025 from August last season]. Last season on social media we generated 1.7 billion engagements. That’s not unique engagements, but it’s still a huge number.

"Many Americans still don’t appreciate the global power of football. But we think there could now be as many as a billion people around the world who follow Liverpool. There is a special connection with the fans. You feel it at the games at Anfield, when they start to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone. It’s deep and emotional."

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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Liverpool are preparing to spend part of their pre-season in Asia, before returning to the UK ahead of a Community Shield clash with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace and a Premier League season opener at home to Bournemouth on August 15.