Arne Slot has acknowledged that he engaged in discussions about the vacant Netherlands national team position, but the former Liverpool boss has revealed he chose to step back from the process because his immediate ambitions lie in club management rather than international football.
The 47-year-old Dutch coach, who was dismissed by Liverpool on 30 May after a fifth-place finish in the Premier League following his title-winning debut campaign that delivered the club's 20th league crown, addressed the swirl of speculation surrounding his name in connection with the Oranje job. The vacancy emerged after Ronald Koeman departed from his second stint in charge of the national team following the Netherlands' exit from the World Cup, eliminated by Morocco in a last-32 penalty shootout in June.
Reports had circulated suggesting Slot walked away from negotiations with the KNVB, the Dutch football federation, amid disagreements over salary and the length of a potential contract. Slot moved to dismiss those claims directly, insisting the talks never progressed far enough to reach such specifics.
"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past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration," Slot told Voetbal International. "That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks."
Instead, the coach explained that his decision stemmed from a personal preference to remain closely involved with day-to-day coaching duties, something he feels is difficult to replicate in an international setup where contact with players is far less frequent. Slot, who led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2023 before his move to Anfield, made clear that his priority for now is a return to a club environment.
"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," Slot 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."
Despite pulling back from the process, Slot was keen to stress that the decision was not a reflection of any friction with Dutch football's governing body. He praised the manner in which discussions had unfolded, describing the federation's approach as professional throughout.
"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 added. "For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me."
Slot also left the door open to eventually taking charge of his national side at some point down the line, suggesting that the timing simply was not right on this occasion rather than ruling out the prospect altogether.
"It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day," he said. "However, this was not the right moment for me."
With Slot out of contention, attention has turned to other candidates being considered by the KNVB. According to reports emerging from the Netherlands, former Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is now in discussions with the federation as they seek a replacement for Koeman ahead of the Oranje's future fixtures.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.