Pimblett backs Luis Enrique for Liverpool job after calling Slot sacking overdue

Paddy Pimblett has urged Liverpool to pursue Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique as their next head coach, describing Arne Slot’s sacking as “better late than never” and arguing the club should have acted months earlier.

Speaking to CBS Sport ahead of the Champions League final — which PSG won on penalties against Arsenal — the UFC lightweight and lifelong Liverpool supporter said the turning point for him came last November, when the Reds were beaten 4-1 at home by PSV Eindhoven. “A team like Liverpool can’t be getting beat 4-1 at home to a Dutch side,” Pimblett said. “It just shouldn’t be happening. We’re a bigger football team than that.”

When pressed by Jamie Carragher on who he would want in the dugout at Anfield, Pimblett was unequivocal: “I want Luis Enrique to win tonight and then step down from being PSG manager because he’s done the treble twice. Then be like, ‘I want a new challenge.’ Because we are a challenge at the minute.”

Slot departed Anfield with immediate effect after two seasons in charge. In his first campaign he delivered Liverpool’s 20th league title and was named LMA Manager of the Year, but the club finished fifth in the Premier League in 2025-26 and failed to add a trophy, despite reaching the Champions League quarter-finals and securing European qualification for a second successive season. The Dutchman still had a year remaining on his contract when Liverpool confirmed his exit.

The club’s official statement acknowledged the difficulty of the decision: “The contribution Arne has made to Liverpool FC in the time that he has been with us has been significant and meaningful.”

Andoni Iraola is reported to be the frontrunner for the position after leaving Bournemouth, where he guided the club to sixth place in the Premier League. Pimblett’s preferred candidate, Enrique, has not publicly indicated any desire to leave PSG following their Champions League triumph.