Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes
And now, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, the end is near for the 24/25 Premier League season. For Arne Slot, though, the Liverpool boss will have full conviction that the party of a generation across Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, to close out his first term in charge, will be just the start of his Anfield journey.
Less than 12 months since Jurgen Klopp confirmed the arrival of Slot as his successor on the pitch, after his final game in charge, the Reds' first-ever head coach has already stitched himself into the club's rich tapestry, becoming a title winner in his first season.
That he did so with four games to spare before jetting out to Ibiza to enjoy the fruits of his labour, while the rest of the Premier League remained fretting over their eventual landing spot, only endeared him further to Kopites. This, after all, is a group of supporters who know how to mark the big events when they come along and Slot, it seems, gets that entirely.
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The former Feyenoord boss has not made a habit of being tucked into the blanket of emotion that often wraps itself around this football club but it was heartening to hear him this week speak of how much it meant hearing what the scenes at Anfield on April 27 - when the title was officially confirmed against Tottenham - represented to match-goers and where it stood in their lengthy list of famous days at the venue itself.
"That’s what probably makes me the most proud," Slot told The Athletic. "To hear people who have worked at the club for so long or been a fan for so many years, and with all the success this club has had, to still be able to do something that is more special to them than anything else, that’s probably the highest you can achieve. That brings emotions, even for a calm and collected guy like me."
It's quite the achievement given how soon it has arrived into his tenure and while talk of new contracts has dominated the agenda all season, sporting director Richard Hughes and Fenway Sports Group's CEO of football, Michael Edwards, now have another big deal they will have to give huge consideration towards.
If the two-year deals for Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were a reward for their respective performances en route to title No.20, then Slot has earned the right to sit down and discuss new and improved terms of his own on the back of a frankly spectacular year.
That subject was one the Reds boss was keen to sidestep when he sat with a handful of publications that included the ECHO on Friday, but having won over the entire worldwide fanbase by delivering the trophy they crave more than any other, Slot's standing has shot to a level few could have predicted this time last year.
The coyness of his reply when asked about contract talks between the club and his agent Rafaella Pimenta made it difficult to glean either way if negotiations have started, but Liverpool would be wise to tie down a coach whose reputation in the European game has only soared since he joined from the Eredivisie.
Celebrate Liverpool's Premier League trophy lift and iconic parade with perfect souvenir
This Liverpool ECHO special edition looks back at a remarkable season, but is packed full of images from both the trophy lift at Anfield and the parade through the streets of the city.
There are features, reaction from players and staff, analysis of how the title was won as well as player ratings and a focus on the boss himself - Arne!
Click the link here to buy online and have it delivered directly to your door, or you can purchase it in participating supermarkets, high street retailers, and independent newsagents from May 29, 2025. Online postage and packaging costs apply.
And make sure you buy your bumper edition of the ECHO on Monday May 26 and Tuesday May 27. You can also buy them online here. Postage and package costs apply.
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You can also buy our 48-page keepsake from when Liverpool confirmed the title with victory over Spurs here!
And you can also order a copy of Monday's Liverpool ECHO celebrating Liverpool's triumph direct to your home on our online store.
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Also available is the Liverpool FC CHAMP20NS: Premier League winners 24/25, with a double sided poster.
Pre-order here: https://reachsportshop.com/special_edition/liverpool-fc-champ20ns-premier-league-winners-24-25/
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Their judgement to choose Slot to take over the baton from Klopp has been proven entirely correct and having guided this group of players to the league title, it's set up to be a hugely exciting couple of years with the Dutchman at helm as he heads into the second of his three-year agreement.
The task of keeping Liverpool where they now find themselves - as the country's preeminent club side - will be the next major challenge for Slot and his staff. The Reds have not retained a league title since winning it back to back in 1983 and 1984 and to lift a second successive championship would see them edge clear of Manchester United as the most dominant club, with the historic rivals now tied on 20 apiece.
That, alongside another tilt at the Champions League is on Slot's to-do list for next season. Meanwhile, it's becoming increasingly obvious what should be topping Hughes and Edwards's in-tray.