Earlier on Friday, it was announced that Arne Slot had extended his contract with Feyenoord until 2026, coming a day or so after he made it clear he wouldn’t be going to Tottenham.
That left Spurs needing to find another target to take over from Antonio Conte in what has been a rather frustrating search for Daniel Levy, who thought he had found his man in Slot, but a refusal to meet what Feyenoord wanted for their manager led to the Dutchman deciding he would stay and extend his contract.
The official announcement came on Friday, just around the same time as a press conference put in place for the 44-year-old, where he was asked a few questions, relayed by NOS.
One of the first things he said was: “The decisive factor was playing the Champions League, the fantastic work with the staff and the players, the fact that I’m having a great time privately and being able to build on the past two seasons.”
When asked about the clubs he spoke to, Slot refused to name anyone out of respect, even if everyone knows Tottenham were one of them, and while he started thinking about his future a while ago, he only made a final decision on Tuesday.
He said: “I didn’t know what would happen. I weighed everything, including whether the people who work with me would want to come with me. You can think of it, but I don’t think it’s chic to say: my intention is to stay, because that already raises an expectation.”
Therefore, it seems that the prospect of playing in the Champions League with Feyenoord – a competition Tottenham will not be taking part in – was key to him wanting to stay and turn down the offer from Spurs.
