Liverpool appoint former Bournemouth coach Iraola as manager

Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola will take over as Liverpool’s manager on a two-year deal, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

The 43-year-old replaces Dutchman Arne Slot, who led Liverpool to the Premier League title in his debut campaign but was sacked after failing to live up to expectations in his second season.

“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool," Iraola said in a statement.

“But obviously the atmosphere, the supporters, the club, the players, the chance for me to coach top-level players, the chance to fight for titles. I think it cannot be more attractive than this. It’s difficult to find it. So, really excited to start."

Iraola, a former Spain international who played for Athletic Bilbao between 2003 and 2015, took charge at Bournemouth in 2023 and oversaw a significant upturn in the club's fortunes.

In the 2024-25 season, Bournemouth recorded a points total of 56 and finished in ninth place, their joint-best top-flight finish at the time.

The Spaniard, who announced his departure from the south-coast club in April, bettered that finish this season, guiding Bournemouth to sixth place and sealing qualification for the Europa League.

At Bournemouth, Iraola garnered praise for implementing a high-pressing and progressive style of football, centred around attacking swiftly.

That approach would see him fit in well at Liverpool, who were renowned for their high-octane brand of football under Juergen Klopp, a style that great Mohamed Salah urged the Merseyside club to revive before his departure.

Iraola now faces the difficult task of resuscitating a side that stumbled to a fifth-placed finish last season, while also having to contend with the absence of Salah, who had been Liverpool's main source of goals for the better part of the past decade.

The appointment also represents a significant step up for Iraola, with the Liverpool job being by far the most high-profile of his managerial career and serving as a litmus test of his credentials.