Arne Slot has arrived at Liverpool ahead of starting his new role as manager at Anfield.
The Dutch manager’s negotiations with the club had been ongoing since April, after the previous favorite to replace outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, confirmed that he would honor his contract and stay at his club for another season.
The two parties reached a verbal agreement four weeks ago and Slot himself confirmed the news in a press conference at his former club, Feyenoord.
Liverpool themselves finally gave their approval to the news with a formal announcement on Monday, a day after Klopp’s emotional final game on Merseyside.
Before his first day in office on June 1, Slot wasted no time flying to England from Holland and settling into his new neighborhood.
Arne Slot has been spotted for the first time in Liverpool since his move to the UK
The former Feyenoord coach said goodbye to his former club at the end of the season
Slot will replace former manager Jurgen Klopp on June 1 ahead of July pre-season
The 45-year-old was spotted at the plush Moor Hall restaurant in Aughton, ten miles from Liverpool and a stone’s throw from his new residence – Klopp’s £4million former home in Formby.
Klopp had bought the house from another former Reds manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Moor Hall was pleased to welcome the incoming head coach, posting a photo of chef Mark Birchall alongside Slot with the caption: “It was great to welcome Arne Slot to the Moor Hall restaurant yesterday.”
The two-Michelin-starred restaurant was voted ‘England’s Best Restaurant’ at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2023 for the second year in a row, and offers a set ‘Provenance Menu’, priced at £235 per person .
Produce-based dishes available include smoked eel with potato, fermented garlic and flowers, and grilled Cornish turbot with salsify, pear and mussel and roe sauce.
While Slot will not be able to meet his players until pre-season training begins in July, the new manager has seen his entry into the Anfield dugout considerably softened by the vocal backing of his predecessor.
Speaking to the rapt crowd after Liverpool’s 3-0 win against Wolves on the final day of the season, Klopp mocked the Anfield faithful as he attempted to teach them a new song.
Klopp made sure the Anfield faithful were excited about their new manager, chanting his name as part of his farewell speech.
More than 2,000 kilometers to the south, Klopp and his wife Ulla were beginning their new life in Mallorca.
The 56-year-old proudly posted photos of himself playing paddle tennis on his Instagram account.
The former Reds manager also shared a video update with his followers via his new account.
‘From today I am once yours, and I continue to believe in you. I still believe one hundred percent,” Klopp began, before launching into singing the name of the new coach, to the tune of a song he once used for him.
With a big smile on his face, Klopp sang: ‘Arne Slot! La, la, la la! Arne slot! ‘La, la, la, la!’
He then said: “When the next season starts, you’re not waiting to see what’s happening, no, you’re going full throttle.” You welcome the new manager like you welcome me. You do everything possible from day one.
‘And when it’s hard, you keep believing. When it’s difficult, you continue to believe and push the team, for a goal or whatever. Now I am one of you, I love you very much.
More than 1,250 miles to the south, Klopp began his new life this week, having landed in Mallorca.
The decorated manager will stay at the luxury five-star Kimpton Aysla hotel with his wife of 20 years, Ulla, while construction work is completed on their new £3.4 million villa in the Balearic Islands, his planned base for his new retired life. .
Klopp took to his newly launched Instagram account to update fans on his holiday, which included playing padel.
Klopp will check the progress of his £3.4million villa in Mallorca in the coming weeks.
Both Klopp and his wife Ulla are honorary members of their local country club in Mallorca.
‘What have I been doing? Working on my game!’ Klopp captioned a clip and shared a video of himself talking about his renewed commitment to racquet sport.
‘Now what I’m doing is trying, no, I’m following my other great passion, I’m trying to improve my padel game.
‘I started a few days ago, today is my third session and I started at an extremely low level, I didn’t play for a while and I felt it straight away.
‘Step by step I will get there.’