Andoni Iraola is reportedly close to being named as the new manager of Liverpool after FSG dismissed Arne Slot.
Sporting director Richard Hughes has a strong working relationship with Iraola after their time together at Bournemouth, which will make the latter’s transition to life at Anfield smoother than normal.
Slot was under immense pressure at the tail end of his Liverpool career, but despite several months of speculation, FSG waited until the end of the 2025-26 season to let him go.
Whether or not that was the right call is another debate, but it would appear as though FSG and Hughes had a disagreement over hiring Iraola to replace Slot.
ESPN pundit Jan-Aage Fjørtoft said that FSG spent weeks planning Arne Slot's departure and even consulted Jurgen Klopp for advice before pursuing Andoni Iraola ??:
“I just got back from Germany today; there was talk that they’ve asked Jurgen Klopp for advice on who could be… pic.twitter.com/dgiC0uMwTi
— Goaldata – Liverpool Zone (@LiverpoolZNE) June 2, 2026
Liverpool’s ‘internal disagreement’ over hiring Iraola to replace Slot
According to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, now working in the media, Liverpool weren’t unanimous in their decision to appoint Iraola even if the Spaniard is set to take charge.
Wyness told Football Insider: ”They decided late in the season on the Slot issue that they were going to have to make a move; they’re now finding themselves picking Iraola because he’s available. Is that really the right way to have gone and picked a manager?
“It could have been a bit of undue haste that they may wish to repent on later on. I’m not entirely convinced that Iraola is the one that they’ve been hunting all season. I think that would have been much clearer, and it would have been labelled earlier.
“There are some question marks, I think internally. I think there’s been a little bit of disagreement between Richard Hughes and the others at the top of Liverpool and as to how they’re going to approach it.
“Iraola is available, and it’s been done quickly, but as I say that brings up a question mark in my mind as to whether he really was the one that they really wanted.”
On paper, Iraola is the perfect fit for Liverpool. Well, near perfect. The 43-year-old believes in aggressive, front-foot attacking football and appears set to restore high-pressing defence to Anfield.
Yet, Iraola doesn’t yet have any experience managing an elite team, and this makes him something of a gamble. That said, Liverpool will play a lot more like how fans expect them to.