Liverpool announced Andoni Iraola as their new manager on Thursday, replacing Arne Slot after a disastrous Premier League title defence.
Iraola swiftly emerged as Liverpool’s main target to replace Slot, whose two-year reign ended abruptly last Saturday.
Liverpool did not specify the length of the 43-year-old Spaniard’s contract, although British media reported that he had signed a two-year deal.
“Really excited, really excited, because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world,” Iraola, who called time on his impressive spell with Bournemouth at the end of this season, said on Liverpool’s official website.
“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it was a special club.
“You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.”
Following criticism of Liverpool’s underwhelming results in Slot’s second season at Anfield, Iraola is anticipated to deliver a more pressing, aggressive style of football, as the team did under beloved former manager Jurgen Klopp.
Iraola received high praise for Bournemouth’s sixth-place performance in the Premier League this season, which won the club’s first qualification to Europe, the Europa League.
He joined the south coast team from Rayo Vallecano in 2023, after previously managing Mirandés and AEK Larnaca in Cyprus.
Bournemouth improved every year under Iraola, finishing 12th, ninth, and sixth.
The former defender was renowned for his clever tactics and development of young players such as Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott.
Prior to departing Liverpool at the end of the season, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah reportedly called for a return to the “heavy metal football” that resulted in so much success under Klopp, putting additional pressure on the beleaguered Slot.
Iraola has previously expressed his desire for his teams to play in an attacking, high-pressing style, as opposed to Slot’s more controlled approach.
Iraola was born in Spain’s Basque Country and played over 500 games for Athletic Bilbao before moving to Major League Soccer with New York City, where he collaborated with Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo.
He will arrive on Merseyside as Liverpool faces a crossroads following Slot’s failure to keep the team at the top of English football.
Slot faced the difficult task of succeeding Klopp, who left in 2024 after winning the Premier League and Champions League during a magnificent nine-year run at Anfield.
The former Feyenoord manager got off to a fantastic start, leading Liverpool to a record-tying 20th English league title in his debut season, thanks to Salah’s 29 goals.
However, Slot was unable to stem Liverpool’s slump in the 2025/26 season, as the Reds disintegrated from late September and finished the season without a trophy.
The loss of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota in a vehicle accident in July had an enormous impact on the squad, and the club’s £450 million ($605 million) spending spree on new arrivals failed to pay off.
Slot’s relationship with Salah deteriorated, and Liverpool supporters turned against the manager as a result of his team’s lacklustre performances and poor results.
The club finished fifth, 25 points behind champions Arsenal, securing qualification for next season’s Champions League.
