Former Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot, has confirmed he held talks over the vacant Netherlands national team job but withdrew because he wants his next role to be in club football.
The Dutchman, 47, guided Liverpool to their 20th league title in his debut season at Anfield but finished fifth in the Premier League the following campaign and was sacked on 30 May.
His name emerged as a candidate to succeed Ronald Koeman, who stepped down as Netherlands manager after the country was knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco in a last-32 penalty shootout in June.
Slot denied reports suggesting he withdrew from talks with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) over a dispute involving his contract.
“Over the past few weeks, and particularly the past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration,” he told Voetbal International.
“That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks.”
Slot, who won the Eredivisie with Feyenoord in 2023, has not ruled out taking charge of the national team at a later stage in his career.
“At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day. Something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team,” he has said.
He said his decision to end discussions was based on that preference. “And (this is) why I chose not to continue the talks and not to start negotiations on what a possible contract might look like.
“I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB and can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week. For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.”
Slot added, “It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me.”
Former Portugal manager, Roberto Martinez, is now reportedly in talks with the KNVB over the vacancy, according to reports in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands are set to begin their 2026-27 Nations League campaign against Germany in Amsterdam on 24 September, just 43 days away, with Koeman’s successor yet to be appointed.
That timeline stands out compared to other major European nations that changed managers following this summer’s World Cup.
Germany took 21 days to appoint Jurgen Klopp after Julian Nagelsmann’s departure, while Portugal named Jorge Jesus three days after Martinez left.
France and Belgium had already confirmed Zinedine Zidane and Mark van Bommel respectively before their predecessors, Didier Deschamps and Rudi Garcia, formally exited.
Historically, a 43-day wait is not unusual for the Netherlands. Of the 14 previous Dutch managerial changes following major tournaments since 1974, 11 took longer than the current search, with an average gap of 64 days.
However, recent appointments have tended to move faster, with the last three post-tournament changes completed within 40 days, including Guus Hiddink’s appointment a day after Louis van Gaal’s exit in 2014.
This search is considered more complicated, with the KNVB having already missed out on its preferred candidate and no obvious alternative immediately available.
Every additional week without an appointment further reduces preparation time for the new manager ahead of the Nations League opener against Germany, whose new coach, Klopp, officially takes charge on 15 August.
(The Whistler)