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Former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has explained why he decided against taking charge of the Netherlands national team.
Slot held talks with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) about replacing Ronald Koeman but chose not to continue with the process.
The 47-year-old dismissed reports that salary or contract length influenced his decision.
“Over the past few weeks, and particularly the past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration,” Slot said.
“That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks.”
Slot said his priority at this stage of his career was to remain involved in club football.
“At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day. Something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team,” he said.
“And (this is) why I chose not to continue the talks and not to start negotiations on what a possible contract might look like.”
The former Feyenoord manager stressed that his decision was not motivated by any lack of respect for the Netherlands or the KNVB.
“I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB and can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week,” he said.
“For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.”
Slot, who guided Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2023, left open the possibility of managing the Netherlands in the future.
“It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me,” he added.
With Slot no longer in contention, former Portugal manager Roberto Martinez has reportedly emerged as a candidate for the vacant Netherlands position.
