Liverpool has
terminated its contract with Arne Slot after just two years at the helm. The Dutch coach struggled to replicate the success of his debut season, which saw him win the
Premier League title.
With a previously strong squad unraveling as the season progressed, the 47-year-old managed only a disappointing fifth-place finish during his second year at Anfield, prompting his dismissal on Saturday.
Though it may seem harsh to fire a manager just a year after winning the league title, such decisions are not unusual, especially among top teams in Europe’s big five leagues. Many clubs have opted to let go of managers within a year (or less) following a title win over the past two decades. Here’s a closer look at the trend.
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Slot’s Tenure at Liverpool
Slot initially continued the legacy of Jürgen Klopp at Anfield by clinching the Premier League title in 2024-25, achieving a commanding 10-point victory. However, the Dutchman’s second season saw a downward spiral, culminating in a fifth-place finish—25 points adrift of the leaders—and a high-profile fallout with star player
Mohamed Salah, which likely sealed his fate.
Claudio Ranieri at Leicester City
Ranieri achieved the unimaginable with Leicester in the 2015-16 season, guiding a 5000-1 long shot to the Premier League title. Fueled by stars like
Jamie Vardy,
Riyad Mahrez, and
N’Golo Kanté, the Foxes astonished the football world. Despite signing a four-year contract extension in August 2016, a poor run of form in the following season led to his dismissal in February 2017 as the team approached the relegation zone.
Jose Mourinho (twice) at Chelsea
Chelsea has a reputation for rapid managerial changes and has shown this pattern with successful coaches as well.
Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in June 2004, leading the team to Premier League titles in his first two seasons. However, he was dismissed just weeks into the 2007-08 season due to a lackluster start, exacerbated by a strained relationship with then-owner Roman Abramovich.
Upon his return to Chelsea in 2013-14, Mourinho again captured the league title but was sacked seven months later after a disastrous start to the 2014-15 season, where the team won only 7 out of their first 16 matches, landing them in 16th place, perilously close to relegation.
Roberto Mancini at Manchester City
Mancini will always be remembered for delivering Manchester City’s thrilling league title in 2011-12, the club’s first in 44 years. However, he was dismissed exactly one year later, two games before the end of the following season, as City finished second to rivals
Manchester United.
Antonio Conte at Chelsea
Conte spent two years at Chelsea, winning the Premier League title in his first season and the FA Cup in his second. His departure was largely prompted by a disappointing fifth-place finish in the 2017-18 season, coupled with underwhelming UEFA Champions League performances, leading the club to part ways with him.
Frank Rijkaard and Xavi Hernández at Barcelona
Rijkaard experienced significant success, winning LaLiga in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and the Champions League in 2006. However, he was sacked at the end of the 2006-07 season following a humiliating 4-1 loss to
Real Madrid, resulting in a third-place finish for the Catalans. His successor was Pep Guardiola, who was coaching Barça B at the time.
Similarly, Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman and led Barcelona to a rejuvenating LaLiga title win in 2022-23. He too was dismissed at the end of the subsequent season after failing to secure any silverware, resulting in Hansi Flick taking over the reins.
Fabio Capello, Zinedine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti, and Mourinho at Real Madrid
Real Madrid has a history of dismissing seemingly successful coaches, with great names facing the consequences of not meeting the club’s exceedingly high expectations.
Capello’s second tenure at the Bernabéu (2006-07) ended just 11 days after he led the club to LaLiga glory, as the club’s higher-ups deemed his tactics too negative. This echoed his first season, which ended similarly after leading the team to a title.
Similarly, Mourinho clinched LaLiga in 2011-12 but was sacked in May 2013 after Madrid fell significantly behind Barcelona in the title race.
Zidane enjoyed remarkable success over two stints at Real Madrid, yet the last LaLiga title he won during his second spell (in 2019-20) was his final trophy, as he left for a second time in May 2021 after failing to secure any titles that season.
Ancelotti, a beloved figure among players and fans alike, was requested to leave Madrid for the second time in May 2025 despite leading the club to league and European titles in 2021-22 and 2023-24, taking on a new role as head coach of the
Brazil national team.
Max Allegri and Maurizio Sarri at Juventus
Allegri claimed five consecutive
Serie A titles with Juventus from 2014 to 2019. However, his first tenure concluded abruptly just 27 days after securing the 2018-19 Scudetto, when the club announced his impending departure at the season’s end, leading to Sarri’s hiring.
Sarri then won Juve’s ninth consecutive Serie A title in his only season in charge but was sacked just a year into his three-year contract after an early exit from the Champions League at the hands of
Lyon in the round of 16, mere weeks after the season ended.
Julian Nagelsmann and Ancelotti at Bayern Munich
Ancelotti clinched the
Bundesliga in his first season with Bayern but was sacked the following September after a rocky title defense that left them in third place. A 3-0 defeat by
Paris Saint-Germain during the Champions League group stage sealed his fate.
After successful tenures at
TSG Hoffenheim and
RB Leipzig, Nagelsmann won the 2021-22 Bundesliga title with Bayern in his debut season. However, he faced an unexpected dismissal in May 2023, even as the defending champions were just one point behind the league leaders
Borussia Dortmund in the title race. Thomas Tuchel stepped in and soon secured the title on goal difference.
Laurent Blanc, Mauricio Pochettino, and Christophe Galtier at Paris Saint-Germain
Blanc secured three consecutive titles during his three-year term at PSG but was dismissed after the 2015-16 season following a quarterfinal exit in the Champions League.
Despite winning a domestic quadruple that season, a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Manchester City proved unacceptable for a club aspiring for European glory.
After a successful stint at
Tottenham Hotspur, Pochettino joined PSG and captured multiple trophies, including a
Ligue 1 title in 2021-22. Nevertheless, he was sacked after 18 months due to the team’s failure to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Galtier followed, winning Ligue 1 in 2022-23 by just one point, only to be let go weeks after the season ended.