Football as a sport involves lots of money, especially at the highest level. Clubs make lots of money but also spend a lot to attain and sustain success. As football players are paid astronomical figures to play, so do managers get handsomely compensated to manage. Thus, the highest paid managers in the world can be found right at the top level.
Managers at some of Europe’s biggest clubs usually earn the most wages, but Saudi Arabia has arrived on the scene to buck the trend — same way they have done with the players.
FootballOrbit takes a look at the top 13 highest paid coaches in the world of football in 2024.
1. Diego Simeone — Atletico Madrid (£30 million)
Diego Simeone leads the list of the highest paid managers on the planet for the fifth year in a row!
Despite taking a pay cut when he signed a contract extension in November 2023 to remain at Atletico until 2027, the Argentine still earns a whopping €35million per year.
The 54-year-old is the longest-serving coach in Europe’s major leagues, having been at the club since 2011.
El Cholo was already a hero among Atletico fans due to his achievements with the club as a player, winning the domestic double in 1995/96.
As a manager, he has led Atletico to 8 trophies, including two La Liga titles in 2014 and 2021 — as well as two Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2018.
Furthermore, Simeone guided Atletico to two Champions League finals, and his impact has not gone unnoticed by the club hierarchy who have ensured to make him the best-paid soccer manager over the past five years.
2. Roberto Mancini — Saudi Arabia (£21.4 million)
In August 2023, Saudi Arabia made Roberto Mancini the second highest paid football manager in the world, offering him a 4-year deal worth €25 million per annum after tax to coach their national team.
He had previously been the manager of Italy, guiding them to Euro 2020 glory.
Now, Mancini’s first major task is to lead Saudi Arabia to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the long-term goal is to turn them into a soccer powerhouse by the time they will host the 2034 World Cup.
3. Pep Guardiola — Manchester City (£20 million)
Despite recently leading Manchester City to an historic treble and conquering the world, Pep Guardiola is not the highest paid manager in 2024. But he is the highest paid in the Premier League, earning about £20m per year.
The Catalan joined the Cityzens in 2016 with a reputation as one of the world’s best managers having enjoyed periods of success at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
And so far, he has turn the club into a dominant force in world football. City have won the Premier League in five of Guardiola’s seven seasons in England, seemingly turning the EPL into a “farmers’ league”.
4. Jurgen Klopp — Liverpool (£16.5 million)
Liverpool’s outgoing manager, Jurgen Klopp, is the fourth highest paid manager in the world, and second in the Premier League.
The German shocked the world in January when he announced that he would leave Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Klopp joined Liverpool in 2015 and transformed the club to one of the greatest in Europe, reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2018 and 2022, and winning the trophy in 2019.
Klopp’s side finished second in the 2018/19 Premier League, registering 97 points; the then third-highest total in the history of the English top division — and the most by a team without winning the title.
The following season, Liverpool won their first ever Premier League title, amassing a club record 99 points and breaking a number of top-flight records. They also won a cup double of the EFL Cup and FA Cup in 2022.
These achievements earned Klopp back-to-back FIFA Coach of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020.
5. Steven Gerrard — Al Ettifaq (£15.2 million)
Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard, earns a staggering £15.2 million a year salary at Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq.
He is one of many high-profile soccer personalities that moved to the Middle East last summer, with Saudi clubs offering eye-watering salaries to European stars since first poaching Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023.
After short managerial spells at Scottish Premiership side Rangers and Premier League outfit Aston Villa, Gerrard’s over £300k a week salary at Al Ettifaq makes him the 5th highest paid manager in the world.
6. Massimiliano Allegri — Juventus (£11.3 million)
Despite Juventus’ financial struggles, the club continue to pay a lot of money in wages to their head coach, Massimiliano Allegri.
The Italian oversaw a period of dominance at the club in his first spell, winning 6 Scudettos in as many seasons and reaching two Champions League finals. But his second stint at Juve has not been as fruitful.
His woes was compounded by the club’s off-the-pitch struggles which saw them handed a 10 point deduction for false accounting in May 2023.
Nevertheless, Allegri has largely improved the team this season as they currently sit in second position on the Serie A table, albeit 9 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan.
7. Thomas Tuchel — Bayern Munich (£10.6 million)
When Thomas Tuchel got unexpectedly fired by Chelsea in 2022, Bayern Munich quickly appointed him as Julien Nagelsmann’s replacement in early 2023.
They expected so much from him and even placed him on a £10.6 million salary, which instantly made him the highest paid manager in the Bundesliga.
While Tuchel managed to win the Bundesliga title after a dramatic final day in the 2022/23 season, his spell in Germany has been very underwhelming.
Shockingly, Bayern got eliminated from the German Cup by third-tier Saarbruecken in November 2023, and are currently 11 points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table.
The Bavarians are also in danger of crashing out of the Champions League after losing the first leg of their round of 16 tie to Lazio. Bayern have seen enough and Tuchel is set to leave the Allianz Arena at the end of the season.
8. Mauricio Pochettino — Chelsea (£10.4 million)
Chelsea offered Mauricio Pochettino a cool £10.4m annual salary to appoint him as manager last summer.
Much was expected from the former PSG manager, but the Blues are still grossly underperforming despite the wealth of talent and wages at Pochettino’s disposal.
9. Carlo Ancelotti — Real Madrid (£9.6 million)
Carlo Ancelotti has done a great job at Real Madrid since coming back for his second spell in 2021, winning a Champions League and La Liga, among other titles.
Despite being linked to the Brazilian national team, Madrid have rewarded Ancelotti with a contract extension until 2026. They will hope that he adds more to his impressive trophy haul.
10. Erik ten Hag — Manchester United (£9 million)
Being the head coach of Manchester United will always be one of the most lucrative roles in the soccer world, so it ain’t surprising that current manager, Erik ten Hag, is among the highest earning coaches.
After a promising debut season where he quickly transformed the Red Devils — qualifying for the Champions League and winning the League Cup — their performance have been below par in 2023/24.
They have been dumped out of Europe and are currently battling to make the top four.
11. Jorge Jesus — Al-Hilal (£8.8 million)
Twice considered one of the top 10 best club coaches in the world by the IFFHS, Jorge Jesus became Al-Hilal manager in July 2023.
He won the Turkish Cup with Fenerbahce last season, the club’s first trophy in 9 years.
Moreso, this is his second stint at Al-Hilal, having previously managed them in 2018/19.
Jesus began his coaching career in 1990 and went on to coach several teams. His most successful spell was at Benfica, where he won 10 trophies (a club record for a single manager, winning all domestic trophies at least once) as well as reaching two UEFA Europa League finals with them in six seasons.
Jorge became manager of Flamengo in 2019 and won the Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in his first year. He returned to Benfica in 2020 but failed to win a single trophy.
12. Simone Inzhagi — Inter Milan (£8.8 million)
With the departure of Jose Mourinho, Simone Inzhagi is now the 2nd highest paid manager in Italy, behind Max Allegri.
After a few years of disappointment, Inter Milan have returned to the summit of Italian and European football, and huge credit for that goes to Inzaghi.
Since arriving from Lazio in 2021, he has won several domestic cups with the Nerrazurri and sensationally guided them to the Champions League final last season — against all odds.
Furthermore, while Inzaghi’s contract at Inter will expire in 2025, he will likely receive a new contract offer as his side are currently 9 points clear at the top of the Serie A table.
13. Mikel Arteta — Arsenal (£8.3 million)
Mikel Arteta was appointed as Arsenal manager in 2019, and has since got the Gunners firing again!
Due to his impressive performances, the Spaniard was rewarded with a salary increase in 2022. Arteta now earns a reported £8.3m per year, which is approximately £158,000 per week.
This massive pay rise shows the faith Arsenal has in him to deliver titles for the club in the coming years.
