Liverpool are set to win the Premier League title but they have already qualified for the Champions League.
‘Oh, nice’ – Arne Slot makes exciting Liverpool admission after what FSG told him privately
Arne Slot has revealed that Liverpool’s main aim in his maiden season was Champions League qualification – but he is in no mood to celebrate the achievement.
The Reds have mathematically secured their spot in Europe’s elite club competition for the 2025-26 season. They did so with seven matches to spare as results last weekend went their way.
But the Premier League title is what Liverpool are aiming to achieve this campaign. A 2-1 victory over West Ham United moved them to within six points of claiming their 20th English championship in the club’s history.
There was uncertainty at the beginning of the season when Slot arrived. He faced the daunting task of replacing Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield hot seat. During his nine-year tenure, Klopp was the chief engineer in Liverpool’s return back to the European elite – winning the Champions League in 2019, reaching two other finals, and ending a 30-year wait for a Premier League crown.
Slot was a largely unheralded figure arriving from Feyenoord and after finishing third in the league last term, those outside of Liverpool persuasion hoped it would spark a downfall.
Speaking after the West Ham win, the Dutchman revealed that owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) did not expect him to forge a title charge in his first year. His remit was to finish in the top four given the revenue the Champions League brings with it. The club posted pre-tax losses of £57 million in their most recent accounts, having spent the 2023-24 campaign in the Europa League.
The briefing from FSG was to assess the squad and then mount a challenge for the top-flight crown next term. Slot is ahead of schedule but is not popping any Champagne corks. knows there is now a title to win, with just two more victories required. Then defending the title in 2025-26 will very much be the target.
The Liverpool boss said: “I think it is the main aim for the club because they have experienced two years ago how much of an impact it is if you are not a part of the Champions League. So, yes indeed.
“The main aim in what they told me is look at the players, give your opinion about it so we can go into this project in the second and the third year, but do qualify for the Champions League. We all know that even the team who is in 16th at the moment has very good players, but the top eight all have incredible players.
“So, it’s getting more and more difficult to qualify for the Champions League. To be honest, if you would have asked this question to me in the beginning of the season, I would have said, ‘Oh, nice.’ But yesterday it wasn’t that I opened a bottle of wine because we qualified for the Champions League. We have now, of course, a bigger aim than only qualifying for the Champions League.”
