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.



Tottenham Sign England Midfielder Gallagher from Atletico

Atletico Madrid's Conor Gallagher, second left, duels for the ball with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP)
Atletico Madrid's Conor Gallagher, second left, duels for the ball with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP)
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Tottenham Sign England Midfielder Gallagher from Atletico

Atletico Madrid's Conor Gallagher, second left, duels for the ball with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP)
Atletico Madrid's Conor Gallagher, second left, duels for the ball with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP)

England midfielder Conor Gallagher has signed for Tottenham Hotspur from Atletico Madrid on a long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old, who joined the Spanish side from Chelsea in 2024, made four starts in LaLiga this season. Spurs and Atletico agreed a transfer fee of approximately 34.6 million pounds ($46.60 million), according to British media.

"I'm so happy and ‌excited to ‌be here, taking the ‌next ⁠step in ‌my career at an amazing club," said Gallagher, who will be hoping a return to the Premier League will boost his chances of making England's World Cup squad.

The pressure is mounting on manager Thomas Frank with Tottenham ⁠registering one win in their last seven games across ‌all competitions.

To add to their ‍troubles, forward Mohammed ‍Kudus suffered a quad injury keeping him ‍out until April, while midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur have also been sidelined due to injuries.

Striker Richarlison also went down with what appeared to be a hamstring strain in their 2-1 loss to Aston Villa ⁠last Saturday which sealed Tottenham's exit from the FA Cup.

"Conor has captained teams so will bring leadership, maturity, character and personality to our dressing room, while his running power, pressing ability and eye for goal will strengthen us in a key area of the pitch," Frank said in a statement.

Tottenham, 14th in the Premier League standings, face ‌relegation-threatened West Ham United on Saturday.


AC Milan Coach Allegri Carries Torch as Others Complain

Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
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AC Milan Coach Allegri Carries Torch as Others Complain

Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Fiorentina v AC Milan - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - January 11, 2026 AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts. (Reuters)

Massimiliano Allegri, the coach of Italian soccer side AC Milan, joined the ranks of Winter Olympics torchbearers on Wednesday, amid a row over the exclusion of former athletes that has prompted government intervention.

The torch is journeying through Italy's 110 provinces ahead of the start of the Milano-Cortina games, scheduled for February 6-22.

Allegri walked with other volunteers through the city of Borgomanero, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Milan.

Some 10,001 torchbearers have been mobilized to carry the flame, ‌wearing white ‌uniforms with a red-and-yellow pattern ‌recalling ⁠the Olympic flame.

But ‌former cross-country skiing champion Silvio Fauner is complaining that he and other Olympic medal winners have been sidelined.

"There's no respect for us champions. I consider it an incredible insult," Fauner said in an interview on Tuesday with sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I represent 10 athletes who ⁠have won 35 Olympic medals, starting with the two gold relay ‌teams of 1994 and 2006... We ‍were not involved in the ‍slightest in any Winter Olympics initiative in our ‍country. Neither torchbearers, nor ambassadors, nor any role. Nothing," he said.

Olympics organizers said in a statement Fauner had been excluded from torchbearing duties because political office holders are disqualified.

Fauner is deputy mayor of Sappada, a ski resort in the Dolomites.

In a follow-up on Facebook, the retired ⁠athlete complained of double standards, noting that a local politician was among the torchbearers in Sicily.

He said he was speaking up for "at least 15 (other) athletes who have won Olympic medals in winter sports, champions who have written the history of Italian sport and who today feel sidelined."

Italian Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, who is heavily involved in Olympics preparations, and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi announced on Wednesday an "urgent meeting" with Games organizers to deal with ‌the controversy.

In a joint statement, they said they wanted to shed light "on very baffling decisions".


LA28 Lights Coliseum Cauldron as Ticket Registration Set to Open

The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on January 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. (AFP)
The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on January 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. (AFP)
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LA28 Lights Coliseum Cauldron as Ticket Registration Set to Open

The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on January 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. (AFP)
The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on January 13, 2026, ahead of the launch of ticket registration for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. (AFP)

Los Angeles Olympic organizers brought together about 300 current and former Olympians and Paralympians at the LA Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday for a ceremonial lighting of the stadium's Olympic cauldron, using the rare gathering of athletes to launch the ​public countdown to ticket sales for the 2028 Games.

Registration for LA28's ticket draw opens on Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. local time (1500 GMT), with fans able to sign up through March 18 for a chance to be assigned a time slot to buy tickets when sales begin in April.

The cauldron lighting event at the Coliseum - which hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984 and is due to stage the Opening Ceremony and track and field in 2028 - featured athletes spanning decades of competition and was billed by ‌organizers as ‌one of the largest assemblies of Olympic and Paralympic athletes ‌outside ⁠competition.

"In ​just ‌the last year, I've seen firsthand how Angelenos come together, how they rise to meet every challenge, and that spirit is unmatched," Hoover said at the event, alluding to the wildfires that devastated LA neighborhoods a year ago.

Hoover said 150,000 people have already signed up to volunteer at the Games, which organizers have billed as "athlete-centered" and accessible to all.

"That's 150,000 supporters saying I want to be a part of this, I want be a part of history, ⁠I want a be a part of LA28," he said.

"We know fans around the world are feeling the same ‌way and are hungry for their chance to get into ‍the stands to experience this once ‍in a lifetime, once in a generation, event."

TICKETS STARTING AT $28

LA28 Chair and President Casey ‍Wasserman told Reuters that ticket registration was a "major milestone" on the road to LA28.

Tickets will start at $28, with a target of at least one million tickets at that price point, and roughly a third of tickets will be under $100, he said.

Under LA28's process, registrants will be entered into a ​random draw for time slots to buy tickets. LA28 said time slots for Drop 1 will run from April 9-19, with email notifications sent ⁠March 31 to April 7. Tickets for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be included in Drop 1.

A local presale window will run April 2-6 for residents in select Southern California and Oklahoma counties, where canoe slalom and softball will be held. Paralympic tickets are due to go on sale in 2027.

On the sidelines of the event, LA28 Chief Athlete Officer and gold medal winning swimmer Janet Evans said the Olympics are a powerful way to unite people from around the globe.

"The Olympics is the greatest peacetime gathering in the world. We are lucky enough we get to bring it here to Los Angeles and experience that," she said.

Paralympic swimmer Jamal Hill said he was moved to see the cauldron flame burning ‌bright in the LA sunshine.

"I didn't feel the physical warmth, but my heart fluttered a little bit," he said.

"The whole world is coming to LA28."