Luis Enrique has made his admiration for Liverpool unmistakably clear at a time when he is being portrayed as the club’s top managerial candidate should Arne Slot lose his job.
With Slot under growing scrutiny, reports suggest Enrique is the leading option to replace him if Liverpool decide to make a change.
Liverpool’s situation has worsened dramatically, with the 4–1 Champions League defeat to PSV marking their ninth loss in 12 matches across all competitions.
The Reds have now slipped out of the Premier League’s top half and currently sit below Everton, who defeated Manchester United 1–0 earlier this week.
The next eight days could determine Slot’s future, with difficult away fixtures against West Ham and Leeds followed by a home match against Sunderland on December 2.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has argued that Slot has three games to save his job, writing in The Telegraph that anything fewer than seven points could make his position “untenable.”
Liverpool are known for avoiding mid-season managerial changes — only Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers have been dismissed early in the past century.
However, if Slot becomes the rare exception, The Sun reports that the club would first approach Jurgen Klopp about returning as an interim manager until the season ends.
For the long term, the club’s preferred candidate is reportedly Luis Enrique, who guided PSG to their first-ever Champions League title last season.
Enrique has long expressed his interest in working in the Premier League. Speaking to FourFourTwo in 2013, he said:
“I’d like to manage in England one day. My wife wouldn’t love the weather — she’s from Barcelona and prefers the sun.
But it would depend on the team and the football they play.”
In that same interview, he revealed he had studied Brendan Rodgers’ early work at Liverpool:
“I like how Rodgers understands the game and how he gets the team playing together, even if his first year has been difficult.”
More relevant today are Enrique’s comments from March 2025 ahead of PSG’s Champions League Round of 16 tie against Liverpool.
PSG ultimately eliminated Liverpool on penalties after the two legs finished level, including a 2–1 victory at Anfield that tied the aggregate score at 2–2.
Before that match, Enrique said:
“Liverpool have been one of Europe’s best teams in recent years.
We’re about to face the strongest-performing side in this season’s Champions League, and they’ve recently been champions.
After the Klopp era, it could have been challenging for Arne Slot, but he has built a very complete team — strong in pressing, defending, and attacking.
They can construct patient build-up play or strike on the counter. They are a very well-rounded side.”
