Liverpool confirms Iraola appointment
Liverpool confirmed the appointment of former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola as its coach, after the dismissal of Arne Slot.
Slot led Liverpool to just its second Premier League title in his first campaign at the helm in 2024-2025, having taken the reins after Jurgen Klopp's resignation.
That made the Dutchman only the fifth manager to win the Premier League in his first season in the competition, after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte with Chelsea, and Manuel Pellegrini with Manchester City.
However, he then oversaw a dismal title defence despite a £450m spending spree that brought the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez to Anfield.
Liverpool only secured Champions League qualification on the final day of the Premier League season, finishing fifth – just three points clear of Iraola's Bournemouth.
The Reds' 60 points were the fewest of any Premier League team to finish fifth or higher since Tottenham in 2006-07, while its 24-point drop between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 was the largest by any ever-present Premier League side in those seasons.
Iraola was quickly installed as one of the favourites to succeed Slot, having left Bournemouth after three wildly successful seasons on the south coast, and Liverpool has now confirmed his arrival.
The Spaniard, who has signed a reported two-year contract at Anfield, told the club's website: “[I'm] really excited, really excited.
“Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world.
“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it’s a special club.
“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.
“But obviously the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It’s difficult to find it. So, really excited to start.”
Iraola became the first manager to lead Bournemouth to European qualification in its 127-year history, capping three years of growth for the Cherries under his leadership.
Having replaced Gary O'Neil in 2023, Iraola led Bournemouth to Premier League finishes of 12th in 2023-2024 and ninth in 2024-25 before gatecrashing the top six in his final campaign.
It broke its Premier League points record in each of those seasons.
Iraola will be tasked with overseeing a summer of transition on Merseyside, after the departures of club legends Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.
Ibrahima Konate has also announced his exit, with Liverpool expected to be in the market for a new centre-back to partner club captain Virgil van Dijk.
Xabi Alonso had previously been touted as the most likely man to succeed Slot, but he took his name out of contention before the Dutchman was even sacked, by agreeing to take charge of Chelsea from the start of July.
Iraola is the 23rd permanent manager in Liverpool's history, and the second from Spain after Rafael Benitez, who led them to the Champions League trophy in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006.
