In the world of football, it’s not just the players who get paid vast amounts of money but also the managers.
A football manager’s job is a thankless job where the pressure is always on the manager and a small slip-up will get you the sack. Even winning silverware doesn't please club owners and they are the first to come under fire if they don’t live up to their expectations.
But, the big managerial job does pay big bucks, too.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the highest paid managers in world football.
#10 Diego Simeone
Club: Atlético Madrid
Salary: £4.4 Million
After winning the La Liga title in 2013/14 and taking the club to two Champions League finals in three seasons, Diego Simeone earned himself a new five-year contract in 2015. The Spanish club has been through a major transformation under the Argentinian ever since his appointment.
Simeone truly established himself in Europe after the way he developed the club and it’s players over the years.
Perhaps the only thing that Diego Simeone must be regretting is the two Champions League final defeats to Real Madrid. The Argentinian is going nowhere until Atletico are European champions.
#9 Zinedine Zidane
Club: Real Madrid
Salary: £4.6 Million
Although it has only been nine months since the Frenchman took up the toughest job in Spanish football, Zizou has already managed to add a Champions League trophy to the Real Madrid trophy cabinet.
The former Real Madrid player already has legendary status at the club as a player and is now hoping to achieve legendary status as a manager too.
With the start of the new La Liga season, Zidane’s top priority will be to beat defending champions FC Barcelona to the Spanish League title. With the kind of squad Zidane has in his kitty even a treble is an understatement.
It was reported that Zidane’s salary was doubled after he led Real Madrid to win the Champions League.
#8 Ronald Koeman
Club: Everton
Salary: £6 Million
After two years at Southampton, Ronald Koeman joined Everton on a three-year contract back in June. The 53-year-old Dutchman has great aspirations for the future and Everton fans will be hopeful of a turnaround after disappointing in their previous two seasons under Roberto Martinez.
Koeman will be looking to reinstate some of Everton’s lost virtues and will be looking to bring the same kind of success that he had in previous spells at Ajax, Benfica, and PSV.
The new Everton manager will look to improve the young set of players at the club like Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku. Dutch managers don’t come cheap.
The former Barcelona player is reportedly on a £6 Million-a-year salary and is on a three year contract.
#7 Antonio Conte
Club: Chelsea
Salary: £6.6 Million
With Chelsea’s ousting of Jose Mourinho last season Roman Abramovich knew it would be hard to replace a manager with similar credentials. But the club managed to lure former Juventus manager Antonio Conte, and the Italian manager was surely up for the task.
Although Chelsea FC is going through a transition period, the club has enough talent in the team for Conte to pull off something special.
With the kind of success he had at Juventus in the past, the Italian surely deserves the hefty pay. But, Conte’s £6.6 Million-a-year salary is half of what his predecessor Jose Mourinho was paid when he was in-charge of the club.
The Italian is on a three-year deal with the London club.
#6 Luis Enrique
Club: Barcelona
Salary: £7.2 Million
The former player-turned-manager has had tremendous success with Barcelona FC over the years, winning a treble in his debut year and La Liga title and Cup double last season.
In fact, Luis Enrique recently won his 100th game as manager of FC Barcelona.
But Enrique has recently been in the news regarding his future as he has been linked to the news of becoming the Spanish football team head coach. With no experienced and established managers available in the market, Barcelona will be hoping Luis Enrique remains at Camp Nou.
Enrique previously coached Barcelona’s B team and later moved to Roma, to finally make his return to Nou Camp. He has a contract with Barcelona till 2017.
#5 Jurgen Klopp
Club: Liverpool
Salary: £7.5 Million
Liverpool FC don’t mind paying any amount of money to a manager as long as they get the Merseyside club back to their past glory. Jurgen Klopp certainly fits the bill to achieve that goal. Liverpool fans couldn’t have asked for a better manager for the club than Jurgen Klopp.
This being Klopp’s first full tenure, expectations are high, with Klopp bringing in some highly talented players in the likes of Sadio Mane, Giorginio Wijnaldum, Marko Grujic, Loris Karius and a few more.
With such heavy reinforcements being brought in, the club’s fans will not settle for anything less the Champions League spots.
Klopp initially signed on a deal which would have kept him at Liverpool till June 2018, but his contract was extended till June 2022. His salary too was increased from £6 Million to £7.5 Million.
#4 Arsene Wenger
Club: Arsenal
Salary: £8.3 Million
Surprisingly Wenger pips Luis Enrique in the list despite the Spanish man's treble at a club like Barcelona. Even though the Gunners finished in second place last season, the veteran manager has come under immense pressure from the fans despite consistently qualifying for the Champions League.
With only one year left on his contract, this could very well be Wenger’s final season as in charge of Arsenal FC and he would want nothing less but to go out on a high. The Arsenal manager signed his last contract with the Gunners in 2014.
We still can’t write off Wenger’s men to put an end to a 12-year title drought. All things said twenty years at a club like Arsenal is a big achievement for any manager.
#3 Jose Mourinho
Club: Manchester United
Salary: £12.3 Million
After a string of embarrassing defeats, Mourinho was ousted by Chelsea midway last season. But the “Special One” didn’t have to wait too long for a big club to come knocking at his door, and neither did one of the biggest clubs in England, Manchester United.
Mourinho couldn't ask for better with the club’s willingness to spend big, Record breaking, in fact, bringing in Paul Pogba for a sum around €90 million, Henrikh Mkhitaryan for around £30 million and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for free. There’s no question that Mourinho means business.
Mourinho signed a three-year contract with an option of extending one more year.
#2 Carlo Ancelotti
Club: Bayern Munich
Salary: £12.6 Million
Carlo Ancelotti is definitely one of the most experienced and decorated managers in world football at the moment and rightly deserves the price tag. The man has the reputation which is impossible to match.
Having won several trophies in England, France, Spain and Italy, the Italian now wants to achieve success in the Bundesliga as well. After the departure of Pep Guardiola to Manchester City, Ancelotti signed a three-year deal with Bayern Munich in the summer.
The Italian manager will be happy since there will be less pressure at Bayern Munich in comparison to Real Madrid where nobody’s job is safe.
#1 Pep Guardiola
Club: Manchester City
Salary: £15.3 Million
After spells at big European clubs like Bayern Munich and Barcelona, there’s no question that expectations are monstrous from Pep after being signed by Manchester City.
The much-awaited arrival of the Spaniard to the Premier League would be the manager's golden chance to prove the critics that he can achieve titles even in England. Although it will take time to build his own squad of players at Manchester City, Pep won’t be going easy on his rivals.
Champions League will be the priority for the manager given City’s recent failures in the European tournament.
Guardiola was actually paid more at Bayern Munich than he is currently at Manchester City, but the number is pretty big and he wouldn’t be much bothered with the reduction in salary. Guardiola is on a three-year contract at Manchester City.
