JAMIE CARRAGHER REVEALS ARNE SLOT'S BURNING UCL DESIRE

Jamie Carragher says Liverpool boss Arne Slot is "obsessed with the Champions League." After a chance meeting, Carragher sensed Slot's primary goal is European glory, a shift in focus from their Premier League title win last season.

Jamie Carragher Reveals Arne Slot's Burning UCL Desire
Carragher Unlocks Manager's Champions League Goal

Jamie Carragher mentioned he thinks Liverpool's coach, Arne Slot, is really focused on the Champions League after they ran into each other.

Being super into winning the European Cup isn't a bad thing at all. But it might be a problem if the way they play hurts Liverpool's performance in England.

We'll have to wait and see if that happens, but some of Liverpool's new players, especially Florian Wirtz, seem better suited for European games than the Premier League.

Carragher, who used to play for Liverpool and now talks about football on Sky Sports, said, I think Slot is really focused on the Champions League. He talks about PSG a lot from last year, after they lost to them.

He speaks highly of them. He seemed to admire losing to that team and how they won the tournament and played in the final.

I think he likes coaches whose teams play that way, and that's how he wants his team to play when they're at their best.

That's why, after last season, he talked about Liverpool controlling the game and wanting more skill—you can see that with the players he's signed. But when you spend that much money, you have to be one of the favourites for the Champions League.

Arne Slot even introduced Jamie Carragher to his family as someone who won the Champions League.

Carragher won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, even though they weren't doing great in England that season, finishing fifth in the league behind Everton.

Now that Liverpool is 11 points behind Arsenal, who are at the top of the league, many fans are hoping they can win the Champions League this season, as they did in Istanbul.

"I actually ran into Arne Slot this summer when he was on vacation; we were both on holiday," Carragher added.

He was with his family, and I thanked him for what he did for Liverpool last season in terms of winning the league.

He introduced me to his wife and kids as a Champions League winner, and I got the feeling he thinks, 'That's our next goal.'

I could tell by the way he said it, 'We've won the league, but we want to win the Champions League.'

That's the vibe I got, and it stuck with me. You can tell he really wants it, as all great coaches do.

But when you're the coach of Liverpool, a club known for the Champions League, we have to get close.

While fans would have wanted to win the Premier League again, many would have chosen the Champions League over winning in England at the beginning of the season.

The next step is beating PSV on Wednesday, but Liverpool needs to get back in form after losing eight of their last 11 games.

ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION

Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.

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Arsenal Bag Extra £15.9m Prize Money After Historic Champions League Semifinal - Photo Credit: PA

Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.

Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.

From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.

That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.

By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.

They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.

Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.

It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.

Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.

PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.

Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.

JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL

Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.

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Oblak Demands Mentality Shift At Atletico After Crashing Out To Arsenal - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.

Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”

He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”

On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”

Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”

At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a

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