Jurgen Klopp turns down Arne Slot invites as Liverpool boss lifts lid on private exchange

 Arne Slot has disclosed that despite an invitation, Jurgen Klopp has passed up the chance to come back to Anfield. Klopp departed from his managerial role at Liverpool last summer after a successful nine-year stint, during which he secured several trophies with the team.

He has embarked on a new journey as Head of Global Football with the Red Bull group, starting this new chapter on January 1.

The transition seems to have done little to hinder Liverpool's progress — they've been in fine form under Slot's guidance, leading the Premier League by eight points over Arsenal, progressing to the Champions League last-16 where they'll face Paris Saint-Germain, and gearing up for a League Cup final against Newcastle United next month.

If Liverpool claims victory over current champions Man City on Sunday, they will widen their lead at the summit to a remarkable 11 points, with 11 games remaining — though having played one more match than Arsenal — after losing only once so far in the league this season.

Ahead of the crucial clash at the Etihad, Slot shared that he invited Klopp to watch the two sides play when they first met earlier in December. "I wouldn't mind him coming," Slot remarked

"I invited him, I think, to the City and Real games, but he told me he has a job and is somewhere else in the world.

"He can be here every single time he wants to come - either to the training ground or the games. He is more than welcome.

"But at this moment he had a job to do and in the first half of the season he had a job to do with his wife, enjoying life. For me, he is always welcome."

During Klopp's tenure at Anfield, City were Liverpool's main competitors, securing six Premier League titles. The German was the last manager to prevent Pep Guardiola's team from clinching the championship back in 2019/20.

However, City are currently in a transitional phase and have long since conceded defeat in the Premier League title race. They trail their old rivals by 17 points ahead of hosting the Reds.

In January, City splashed out a club-record $227 million to sign Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez in an effort to strengthen their squad and close the gap at the top. But Slot isn't worried about City's spending spree ahead of Liverpool's visit to the Etihad.

"That's not a question for me," he responded when asked if Guardiola's formidable Man City team was nearing the end of its cycle. "The only thing I can see is that in the summer they lost (Julian) Alvarez and only brought Savinho in - so they had a similar summer to us.

"They have adjusted in the winter because they've probably, I assume, felt like they needed that. That's what it is. I don't know the reasons behind bringing four players in."

While Liverpool's rivalry with Manchester City has been intense in recent years, Slot highlighted that his current squad is largely a fresh ensemble, with only a select few having been part of the team that clinched the Premier League title back in 2020.

"I think this is quite a new team, to be honest," he remarked. "I think only a few of them, maybe five or six, were in this rivalry and competition with City.

"For a large part, these players were brought in last season or are younger players who have come through the ranks of the academy.

"So there are a few who have experienced this (losing out to City), but for most of them this is a new situation. They have never lost the league because they have only just come in.

"So you can look at it both ways. You can see that some players who are here have already won the league and were in competition with City and have experienced a lot, while the others have less experience but don't have that disappointment of losing it a few times.

"But I don't think in the last two seasons we have lost to City because the competition was between Arsenal and City. We are talking about three years ago - and three years in football is quite a long time."

Additionally, Slot is not dwelling on the ongoing investigation into City's alleged financial improprieties, which involves 115 charges of purported breaches of Premier League financial regulations, with a verdict expected in the coming month.

"That isn't part of my time over here," he stated. "I don't follow the case because it doesn't impact this season. I sometimes see the headlines, but I don't follow it."