Arne Slot was sacked by Liverpool last month after a poor second season in charge of the Reds. Paramount to his dismissal was Liverpool's poor form during his second year, after he won the Premier League title in his maiden season. Another point of contention was his deteriorating relationship with several senior players.
Andoni Iraola takes over
Andoni Iraola, Liverpool's new manager, will make repairing bonds between the team and fans a priority, after Anfield often turned to booing under Slot. He will also focus on building strong relationships with his new squad. The ECHO examines Slot's fractured relationships with Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Darwin Nunez.
Mohamed Salah
The most prominent flashpoint was Slot's fraught relationship with Salah. The Egyptian star caused a sensation after claiming he had been thrown 'under the bus' following three successive omissions from the starting line-up in December 2025. After being benched for an away fixture at Leeds, Salah alleged he was used as a scapegoat for Liverpool's poor displays, stating he and the manager 'don't have any relationship.'
'I can't believe I'm sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,' Salah said. 'The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career. I'm very, very disappointed. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.'
Salah also hit out at the club's standards on social media after a 4-2 loss to Aston Villa in May: 'I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear, and back to being a team that wins trophies. That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good.'
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Another player who risked incurring Slot's displeasure was former full-back Alexander-Arnold. The academy product departed for Real Madrid last summer. Their minor disagreement occurred in an early-season encounter with Brentford in 2024, when Alexander-Arnold looked displeased after being substituted for Conor Bradley with 18 minutes left as Liverpool held a 2-0 lead. It was the second time he took exception to being replaced, after a similar incident against Ipswich Town in Slot's first Premier League match.
Slot explained: 'He didn't look that happy after being taken off? I can understand that. Every player wants to play 90 minutes, but I don't think the players that were on the bench from the start were really happy with the choice I made. Trent came back from the national team. At the beginning of the tournament he played quite a lot, then he didn't, then had some time off. It's only his third game, and we have to take care of him because we need him for the whole season.'
Darwin Nunez
Former striker Nunez received a stern rebuke from Slot regarding his work rate. As Liverpool cruised towards the title last season, Nunez delivered disappointing displays, particularly against Aston Villa in February 2025. Slot said: 'I can accept every miss, especially from a player who scored two very important goals away at Brentford. I would prefer him to score but the word 'chance' says it all. It is a chance and not 100% that it goes in. I can accept misses but what is harder for me to accept is his behaviour after the chance. It got too much in his head, he was not the usual Darwin who works his a** off and makes sure he helps the team. You can miss a chance but you cannot miss out on work rate.'
Nunez shared a social media message that was swiftly removed: 'Two three weeks ago, Darwin was the best, Darwin gave us the three points, but yesterday I was unlucky enough to miss a goal and I am once again the 'worst' and the failure.' He later clarified: 'I wasn't the best three weeks ago, nor am I the worst now. If I fall, I get up. You will never see me lower my arms.' Nevertheless, it proved insufficient to rescue his Liverpool career. The Uruguayan forward departed for Al-Hilal in a £46 million transfer in August 2025.
