There was no place for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool when Arne Slot named the three Premier League teams he enjoys watching from afar at Feyenoord.
The Feyenoord boss, 45, is set to make the switch from the Eredivisie to the English top flight this summer after his current club agreed a deal for him to take over from the departing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
While he’s never played or coached outside of his native Netherlands, Slot is an avid watcher of the Premier League. But the teams he relishes playing on TV the most may raise eyebrows on Merseyside.
Speaking to Voetbal International, Slot said watching Liverpool’s title rivals Manchester City is his “ultimate joy in football”. He went on to name three other teams in Europe.
Slot also sees some of himself in City boss Pep Guardiola, priding himself on his pre-match preparation.
“I certainly don’t want to compare myself to Pep, but he is a control freak just like me,” he added.
“If I look at myself, I try to win a match in the week before it is played, by conveying the training, pre-match team talks and tactics to the players as perfectly as possible.”
Slot, who took Feyenoord to their first title in six years last season with his high-pressing style of football, is reportedly going to cost €9million plus €2m in add-ons (£9.4m). That makes him the third most-expensive manager in the history of the Premier League.
