Slot: Liverpool Premier League Win Was One of 'Best Days of my Life'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Leicester City v Liverpool - King Power Stadium, Leicester, Britain - April 20, 2025   Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Leicester City v Liverpool - King Power Stadium, Leicester, Britain - April 20, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
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Slot: Liverpool Premier League Win Was One of 'Best Days of my Life'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Leicester City v Liverpool - King Power Stadium, Leicester, Britain - April 20, 2025   Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Leicester City v Liverpool - King Power Stadium, Leicester, Britain - April 20, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said Friday that winning the Premier League title at Anfield was one of the best days of his life as he turned his thoughts towards next season.

The Reds crushed Tottenham 5-1 on Sunday to seal a record-breaking 20th English league title with four games to spare, basking in a sensational atmosphere at their packed home ground.

"Maybe for all the Liverpool fans, but for many of them, one of the best days of their lives, and I think it was the same for me," AFP quoted Slot as saying.

"The way the whole day went, arriving at the stadium, how intense the fans already were, then during the game going 1-0 behind, so it even felt like, 'Oh, they're not going to give it to us, we have to work for it'.

"Scoring the goals, seeing how much it meant to the players but also to the fans, for me, was really special to be part of."

Liverpool travel to face fifth-placed Chelsea on Sunday before taking on Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace in their remaining games.

"It's nice that we play some very strong teams with Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Palace, so that gives immediate challenge to those games," said Slot, 46.

"It's the end of the season but we also have to look at this as the start of next season already."

The Dutchman said he was surprised by the 22-point between his side and Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, whom he felt were the better team when they met in October, even though Liverpool won 2-1.

"We found a way to win, and that is a quality that we didn't need a lot, because mostly we were the better team on the pitch," he said.

"But in that game we had to suffer more than any other game, maybe. So to be so many points ahead of them is a big compliment for everyone here at this club."

The former Feyenoord boss said he would rotate in the final games of the season.

"Some of them deserve to play already earlier this season because they've trained so well," he said. "They are good enough to play for this club but I mainly chose the same players.

"And I think this is also a moment to see where they are, also looking towards next season maybe a bit already. But definitely also because they deserve to play this season."

Slot said Liverpool's Premier League triumph would be a boost in terms of recruitment.

"Winning the league, having these fans, I think this is a big attraction to every player we want to bring in, and that's definitely helpful," he said.

Captain Virgil van Dijk and top-scorer Mohamed Salah have recently signed new contracts to stay at the Liverpool but Slot said there was no update on Trent Alexander-Arnold, who continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.



Wimbledon Announces Record $73M Prize Fund, $4M for Singles Champions

12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
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Wimbledon Announces Record $73M Prize Fund, $4M for Singles Champions

12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
12 June 2025, United Kingdom, London: All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Chair Deborah Jevans and Chief Executive Sally Bolton attend a press conference at the AELTC in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on june 30th. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa

Wimbledon’s prize money has risen to a record 53.5 million pounds (about $73 million) and the singles champions will each earn three million pounds ($4 million), All England Club officials announced on Thursday.

The total amount is 3.5 million pounds ($6.8 million) more than last year, an increase of 7% — and exactly twice the pot handed out to competitors at the grass-court Grand Slam 10 years ago.

“We’re immensely proud of the fact that if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,” All England chair Deborah Jevans said. “And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players.”

The 2025 winners’ checks represent an 11.1% jump on last year’s prizes for the men’s and women’s singles champions and comes amid growing player demands for a bigger share of grand slam profits.

Players who lose in the first round of singles will get 66,000 pounds, up 10% year on year, The Associated Press reported.

“The focus on just the prize money at four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,” Jevans added.

“The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don’t have an offseason which they want, they have increasing injuries that they’re speaking about, and we’ve always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions, and that door remains open.”

Wimbledon starts on June 30 and runs until July 13. For the first time in the oldest Grand Slam, line judges will be replaced with electronic line-calling.

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