Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of Andoni Iraola as their new head coach on a two-year contract.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the outgoing Bournemouth boss had reached a verbal agreement to succeed Arne Slot, who was sacked on Saturday after two seasons at the club. Slot won the league title in his first season but the 2025-26 campaign ended trophyless and with a fifth-place Premier League finish.
Iraola quickly emerged as the clear favourite to be the Dutchman’s replacement and he was the only candidate approached by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes.
Iraola, 43, flew into Liverpool from San Sebastian earlier on Thursday to complete the formalities. The two-year contract, rather than a longer arrangement, was at the coach’s request having signed similar deals at his previous clubs.
We can confirm Andoni Iraola has agreed a deal to become the club’s new head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season 🤝
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 4, 2026
“Really excited, really excited,” Iraola told Liverpool club media following his appointment. “Because obviously you know about Liverpool, you know that it’s a big club, a massive club, one of the biggest in the world.
“But feeling inside and understanding a little bit more of this club, I always thought it’s a special club. You don’t need a lot of things to get attracted by Liverpool. Liverpool is Liverpool.
“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.”
In the wake of Slot’s departure, senior club figures indicated that they wanted to see a more front foot, aggressive and urgent brand of football with Iraola’s preferred style of play fitting the bill.
Liverpool have not confirmed any appointments to his backroom staff as the process is ongoing, but The Athletic reported earlier this week that Iraola wants to bring Pablo de la Torre, Tommy Elphick, Shaun Cooper and Tom Webber with him from Bournemouth.
Iraola’s arrival will mark a reunion with sporting director Hughes, who he worked with at the south-coast club ahead of his own move to Merseyside in 2024.
Hughes and Fenway Sports Group CEO of football Michael Edwards admire how Iraola turned Bournemouth into one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Premier League without the kind of resources available to most of their rivals.
They believe he has both the personality and leadership qualities to handle the step up to a bigger club.
Iraola’s reputation for developing and improving players also counted in his favour.
Liverpool tried to sign him as a player when he was at Athletic Club of Bilbao ahead of the 2014 January window but he ended up staying at the Basque club. Now he’s tasked with leading a new era at Anfield.
It was announced in April that Iraola would be leaving Bournemouth at the end of his contract this summer.
During three years in charge, Iraola oversaw 12th, ninth and sixth-place Premier League finishes, as well as securing Europa League qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
Marco Rose, the former Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig head coach, has replaced Iraola as Bournemouth boss.
Slot had been appointed as Liverpool head coach in May 2024, signing a three-year contract, with the English club paying a compensation package of around €11million (£9.4m) to bring him in from Dutch side Feyenoord.
After winning the Premier League in his first season on Merseyside, Liverpool finished the 2025-26 campaign with just 60 points, their lowest total for a decade. They qualified for the Champions League in fifth place, after losing 12 games in the league.
‘No time to lose for Iraola at Anfield’
Analysis from Liverpool correspondent James Pearce
It’s no surprise that Liverpool’s talks with Andoni Iraola advanced so rapidly.
When Arne Slot was sacked last Saturday, senior Anfield figures were determined to make a swift appointment and the Spanish coach was always their first choice for the vacancy.
With Iraola keen to take on the challenge after parting company with Bournemouth, it was simply a case of agreeing personal terms and sorting out the make-up of his backroom staff.
There is no time to lose with so much to be addressed at Anfield this summer. There are some glaring gaps in the squad following the departures of Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate as free agents. For others such as Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, the future is uncertain as they enter the final year of their current deals.
Recruitment talks will be led by sporting director Hughes with how the club’s budget is allocated by Fenway Sports Group CEO of football Michael Edwards. However, they will want Iraola’s input in terms of where he believes the squad needs bolstering.
Iraola has got the job on the basis that Liverpool believe he can install the kind of front-foot, attacking brand of football supporters want to see.
As well as bringing in new players to help realise that vision, Iraola will also need to revive the fortunes of those players who alarmingly lost their way over the course of last season. With pre-season starting in early July, the clock is ticking.
What does Iraola bring to his teams?
Analysis by Thom Harris
At the heart of Iraola’s outstanding time at Bournemouth was a commitment to a high-intensity system that suits a carefully-crafted squad.
Once a relatively passive side without the ball, Bournemouth quickly became the standard-bearers for aggressive, front-footed pressing and athleticism, seeking to smother opposition build-up at source rather than sink into a low defensive block.
From there, they look to attack quickly and directly whenever they steal possession.
The manager demands split-second decision-making from his players, switching from zonal to man-to-man marking systems when they sense an opportunity to close in. It relies on collective cohesion from back to front, and team-mates on high alert to jump forward in support once the first player commits to the press.
The transformation has been wholesale. And though it took time for his ideas to sink in, the disruptive nature of Iraola’s approach quickly began to bear fruit.
