Liverpool snubbed Sporting boss Ruben Amorim as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement at Anfield. The Reds have opted to pursue Arne Slot as their new boss. Liverpool will be announcing Slot as their new manager after Klopp’s farewell festivities.
Klopp made it clear on 26th January 2024 that he wouldn’t be Liverpool’s manager from the forthcoming season. The German coach propelled Liverpool to their first league title of the Premier League era. He won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and garnered many other accolades with The Reds.
Klopp was the Football Manager of the Year (Germany) for the 3rd time in his career in 2019 with Liverpool. Klopp’s departure came as a shock to Liverpool fans. The German has established himself as an Anfield Legend. Replacing him isn’t going to be easy.
Liverpool identified Sporting boss Ruben Amorim as a key target.
Why was Amorim in Contention?
Amorim led Sporting to their 3rd Liga Portugal title in 22 years! With 3 games still to go, Sporting CP have already managed to collect 87 points this season. Moreover, Amorim’s side have a solid chance to beat Porto’s 91 points in the 2021-22 season, a league record.
Additionally, Sporting CP boast a goal difference of 64 which is 15 better than the 2nd best Benfica. Likewise, Sporting have scored 93 goals and conceded merely 29 this season.
Talents like Viktor Gyokeres have been a revelation under Amorim. The forward has bagged an impressive 27 goals in the league this campaign and is on the to-buy list of many teams. Also, Amorim’s stats aside, Sporting have played an attractive brand of football under the Portuguese.
Amorim to Liverpool: A collapse!
Ruben Amorim was the favorite to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. However, the move collapsed when Sporting President doubled his demands for the Portuguese at the last minute. Henceforth, Liverpool decided to pull out of negotiations for Amorim.
Initially, Bayer Leverkusen’s record breaking manager Xabi Alonso was identified as a top target by The Reds. Leverkusen won an unbeaten Bundesliga Meisterschale and boast a record of 50 unbeaten games under Alonso so far. Subsequently, Leverkusen could become the first invincible team in Bundesliga history if they avoid a defeat against Augsburg in the final Bundesliga game of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen are still in contention for Europa League and DFB Pokal and could complete a historic unbeaten treble under the Spaniard. Moreover, Leverkusen earned the nickname ‘Neverlusen’ under Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard was being considered favorite to move to Liverpool owing to an emotional bond between him and The Reds over his time at Anfield.
However, Xabi’s confirmation stating that he would continue with Leverkusen another season steered Liverpool’s focus towards Amorim. Rumors suggested that personal terms between The Reds and Amorim had already been agreed. Surprisingly, the move suddenly collapsed and Feyenoord boss Arne Slot ended up gobbling the position.
Arne fills the Slot at Anfield!
A journalist wrote in his column about the collapse of Amorim’s move to Liverpool.
The column read:
“Everything had already been negotiated and the contracts were ready to be signed. Sporting Lisbon would have received a transfer fee of €10m, as had been agreed. However, the president of Sporting Lisbon, Francisco Varandas, is said to have changed his mind at the last minute.
Suddenly, the president demanded €20m and spontaneously doubled the price. Liverpool did not want to play the game. That was bitter for Amorim, who would have loved to become Jürgen Klopp’s successor.”
Unfortunately for Amorim, the move couldn’t go ahead. Arne Slot will be joining Liverpool after the end of the season. Slot will officially join after Klopp’s farewell.
As of now, The Reds’ fans and Anfield prepare for a goodbye to the Liverpool Legend.
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