Roberto Martinez claimed he was offered Liverpool job before Tom Werner statement

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Liverpool co-owner Tom Werner dismissed Roberto Martinez's claim that he was offered the manager's job at Anfield before he later took over at Everton.

No club in English top-flight history has changed its manager fewer times than the Reds, which adds further doubt to the wild suggestions that Arne Slot could be under pressure after a woeful title defense so far.

But in the summer of 2012, Liverpool was on the lookout for a new boss after club legend Sir Kenny Dalglish stepped down from his role. There were reports that Martinez, then at Wigan Athletic, was the favorite to take over.

Former Wigan chairman Dave Whelan claimed Martinez had held a meeting with Liverpool before convincing the Spaniard to stay put. Martinez, who is now Portugal boss, later revealed he had even received an offer from the Reds but decided to sign a new deal.

Brendan Rodgers was appointed later that summer and co-owner Tom Werner made his feelings perfectly clear on Martinez's claim.

He said: "We engaged with a number of very experienced football people whose names have never been mentioned. We ended up focusing only on Brendan Rodgers – we never made an offer to any other manager.

"We were extremely impressed with Brendan, with his thoughtfulness and devotion to Liverpool. Brendan was the only candidate to whom we offered the position."

Brendan Rodgers was named as Liverpool boss in 2012

Brendan Rodgers was named as Liverpool boss in 2012

The following season proved to be a memorable one for Martinez as he guided Wigan to a shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City. However, the Latics were relegated to the Championship just three days later.

He would soon be back in the top flight though, on the other half of Merseyside, after being appointed as David Moyes' successor at Everton following his move to Manchester United.

Martinez almost guided Everton into the Champions League in his debut campaign but was largely inconsistent after that and was fired in May 2016.

One of his final matches in charge came in the Merseyside derby as his side was humiliated at Anfield, with Liverpool running out 4-0 winners.

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Should Slot fail to improve Liverpool's fortunes, Martinez is among the candidates to replace him according to bookmakers. However, the 52-year-old is a long way down the list this time around, priced at around 33-1.

He has secured Portugal's place at next summer's World Cup, having reached the quarterfinals of the European Championships last summer.

Martinez was previously in charge of Belgium but failed to deliver success for the 'Golden Generation', which boasted the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.

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