The Liverpool boss was asked directly about Xabi Alonso potentially replacing him in the Anfield hotseat
Arne Slot and Xabi Alonso
Arne Slot and Xabi Alonso(Image: )
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Xabi Alonso's name made an appearance at Liverpool's pre-match press conference in Marseille on Tuesday night, and it is safe to say that Arne Slot wasn't expecting it.
The Reds boss was asked directly about Alonso replacing him by a rather daring, and let's be honest fairly disrespectful journalist, and to his credit he answered the question head on.
"Yes he called me and said: 'What do you think about the team because I am going to take over in six months, can you tell me a little bit more?’" Slot laughed.
"Or maybe earlier. Maybe he takes over tomorrow! No, no, no. This is one of the weirdest questions I ever got. What is there it say? I am working here for a little bit more than one and a half years and I really like my work over here.
"We won the league last season, struggled more in the league this season. That is also obvious, so yes what is there left to say?"
Slot was measured and calm in his approach, but what did our writers make of it? Here's what they have to say.
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Paul Gorst
It had been shaping up to be a relatively ordinary pre-match press conference at Marseille's Orange Velodrome on Tuesday night for Arne Slot.
He answered a few questions on the return of Mohamed Salah, the capabilities of Wedneday's opponent, Roberto De Zerbi, and also about Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk's importance at Liverpool.
But the question about Xabi Alonso potentially taking his job took the media meeting in a different direction entirely. Of course, the former Real Madrid coach is being spoken about by some supporters after the 2005 Champions League winner with the Reds was relieved of his duties in the Spanish capital but to put it to the door of the current Reds boss was, to say the least, a bit disrespectful right now.
On the back of a 12-game unbeaten sequence, there is no suggestion Slot is close to the sack at Anfield and the 2025 Premier League winner did well to contain his composure when it was put to him on Tuesday night in France, laughing it off while admitting the boos of fans after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley were not ideal.
Slot may be losing some supporters on the back of a difficult season and nine defeats in 12 before the end of November was harrowing before a more solid style of football has made it a tough watch. Six draws in the last 12 and no Premier League wins in 2026 have compounded the ideal that the team is too rigid presently.
There may well even be a decision to be made at the end of the season depending on these final few months, but outright mentioning Alonso in those terms on Tuesday was unfair. He handled it well.
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Mark Jones
Imagine being in the middle of doing your job and you get asked outright not only a) if you're going to lose it, but also b) what you think of the person who is hotly tipped to replace you.
It was a ridiculous question to put to Slot, and the Reds boss handled it with the good humour and directness that we have come to expect from him in his 18 months in the job.
Slot has been nothing but open and honest both in his dealings with the media and with supporters, and so that is why the boos at the end of the Burnley game will have hurt him so much.
Unfortunately for him though, the Alonso question is simply not going to go away. Real Madrid's sacking of the former Reds midfielder - a Bundesliga title winning boss - will not have harmed his managerial reputation one bit, and in the eyes of many the reunion between Alonso and the Reds which had seemed possible when Jurgen Klopp left will now be a formality.
That is what Slot will now have to deal with, because the Dutchman is not a 'name' in the same way as the Basque is, despite his Premier League title. And more pertinently because results and performances this season mean his position is going to be openly questioned by many.
He's not going anywhere though, certainly not right now or before the end of the season, so potential replacements being put to him simply doesn't help anyone.
All he can do is get things right on the pitch, finish as high up the Premier League table as possible and progress in the Champions League and FA Cup. When those opportunities are no longer possible then it might be time to talk, but it isn't now.