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Arne Slot has been criticized by one of his former players, who has accused the Liverpool boss of failing to uphold an agreement with him.
Slot has seen his reputation grow massively since joining Liverpool last summer, with the Dutchman going on to lead the Reds to the Premier League title in his first season in charge, despite having been tipped to struggle following Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
Liverpool has since been made the favorite to defend its title in the 2025/26 campaign, and Slot has continued to earn plaudits for the job he has done. It seems not everyone is a fan of his though.
Former Feyenoord goalkeeper Jaimy Kroesen has hit out at the Reds boss in an interview with Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad, in which he suggests Slot reneged on a promise to him.
Kroesen was part of Feyenoord’s U21s side when Slot was in charge of the Rotterdam club, and was included in a squad to face Ajax during the 2022/23 season in what proved to be his only experience with the senior side.
Before what turned out to be Slot’s final year in charge before moving to Anfield, it’s suggested that he agreed to promote Kroesen to his first team, having decided to make him his fourth-choice goalkeeper during pre-season - an agreement the 22-year-old says he didn’t follow through on.
“I was sitting in Lennard Hartjes’ car when I saw the selection for that match. My name had been removed from the list. I went completely crazy,” Kroesen said.
“I’m a fan of him as a coach, but I don’t think much of him as a person. We had made agreements, but they weren’t honored.
“I’m a Feyenoord fan through and through, I’ve been going there since I was four, but I’ve realized that it’s not a good idea to play for a club you love so much. I can’t stand injustice. It was so bad that I gave up in the last six months. I only played one match.”
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Slot would of course go on to leave Feyenoord in the summer of 2024 in order to join Liverpool, while Kroesen was released by the Rotterdam club. He would have to wait until January to secure a move to Excelsior Maassluis, before joining DBS Eindhoven.
Liverpool.com says: In fairness to Slot, fourth-choice goalkeeper isn’t exactly a position to be shouting about, and if Kroesen was expecting to get into the matchday squad on that basis, then that’s on him more than it’s on the Liverpool boss.
Soccer can be brutal at times, especially for goalkeepers, who are always fighting for just one spot. This hardly seems like something to base Slot’s character on, especially given what we’ve seen from him so far during his time at Anfield.
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