Virgil van Dijk has sent a goodbye message to Arne Slot after the Dutchman was sacked on Saturday as Liverpool head coach following the club’s disastrous 2025/26 campaign
Virgil van Dijk has become the first Liverpool player to publicly back Arne Slot after the manager was dismissed on Saturday (May 30).
Slot steered the Reds to the Premier League crown in his debut campaign on Merseyside but encountered a far tougher second season with 20 losses across all competitions resulting in his weekend sacking.
Slot was reportedly informed of the decision on Saturday morning and the club are now accelerating their search for a successor, with ex-Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola among the early favourites.
Van Dijk featured 104 times under Slot during his two-year tenure at Anfield and the Netherlands skipper has used social media to deliver a farewell tribute to his now ex-manager, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Van Dijk wrote: “We’ll never forget winning the Premier League in our first season together. Thank you, trainer, and best of luck to you and your family for the future.”
Slot was relieved of his position two years into the three-year contract he signed in 2024 when he succeeded Jurgen Klopp.
Fans turned on the Dutchman after a number of poor performances – the team lost 19 times this season – and there was some disharmony in the dressing room, with Mohamed Salah the most outspoken.
Bournemouth’s departing manager Andoni Iraola is reportedly the frontrunner to succeed Slot at Anfield.
Sources insist the decision to move on from Slot was taken with “enormous reluctance”, admitting it does not feel entirely fair to dispense with a coach who won only the club’s second league title in 35 years.
Iraola was already one of the bookmakers’ favourites even before Slot was sacked, while Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann and Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique are also high up on that list.
In a statement owners Fenway Sports Group said: “That this was a difficult decision for us to make as a club goes without saying.
“We would like to take this opportunity to place on record our appreciation for Arne, who will always hold a special place in the history of this football club as the coach who delivered Liverpool’s 20th league title.
“That accomplishment – made all the more remarkable as it arrived in his very first season in charge – was built on outstanding coaching and leadership every single day.
“He also helped guide the club through one of the most difficult periods imaginable following the loss of Diogo (Jota, who died in a car crash last summer).
“Nevertheless, the conclusion we have come to is built on a belief that the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction.”