With Arne Slot sacked by Liverpool with a year left on his contract, the club were required to pay a severance fee – which has been revealed in the Dutch media.
Slot was set to enter the final year of his contract in July but the decision has been made to part ways with the Dutchman early.
It leaves Liverpool to appoint a new head coach along with the majority of his staff, with Andoni Iraola and Bournemouth assistant Tommy Elphick now expected to join.
The turnover of staff will come at a significant cost to Liverpool – and not least the severance package required in sacking Slot.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that Slot was paid €8 million (£6.9m) to terminate his contract a year early.
Who else is leaving Liverpool after Arne Slot sack?
PARIS, FRANCE - Wednesday, April 8, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot and first assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff (R) during the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Liverpool FC at the Parc des Princes. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Sipke Hulshoff, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ruben Peeters are also reported to have left Liverpool with immediate effect and will also have received severance pay.
Incredibly, the Telegraph‘s Jason Burt further claims that a swift exit Etienne Reijnen – who was due to join Slot’s staff at Anfield this summer after leaving Feyenoord – will also need to be negotiated.
That means the full cost of Liverpool sacking Slot is not yet known, but the €8 million needed to buy out the head coach’s contract shows the conviction of their decision.
It follows a similar payout to Jurgen Klopp and his staff when they left their contracts early in 2024.
The Athletic‘s James Pearce reported in February 2025 that a combined £9.6 million was paid to Klopp, Pepijn Lijnders, Vitor Matos, John Achterberg, Andreas Kornmayer, Andreas Schlumberger and Jack Robinson.
That is despite the German and his assistants electing to leave the club, rather than owners Fenway Sports Group making the decision to terminate their contracts as with Slot and his staff.
Slot can now pursue other opportunities within football having reportedly turned down advances from Ajax earlier in the year.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - Friday, May 15, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot applauds the travelling supporters after the FA Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Liverpool FC at Villa Park. Aston Villa won 4-2. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
AC Milan have already been claimed as early suitors but the 47-year-old is likely to take his time before jumping into another job.
In a brief statement on his Instagram story on Sunday, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk thanked Slot for helping the club win their second Premier League title.
“We’ll never forget winning the Premier League in our first season together,” the 34-year-old wrote.
“Thank you, Trainer, and best of luck to you and your family for the future.”