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The role of a manager in football has changed a lot over the years. Earlier the manager was merely expected to preside over his squad, but the continuous evolution of the beautiful game has now diversified his role and responsibilities.
The modern-day football manager is expected to be a man of many talents while being a vital cog in the operations of a football club. However, the post of a football manager can be a thankless job at times.
While footballers take most of the credit and the glamour, managers are expected to work miracles with their teams. They are always under tremendous pressure to succeed but are generally afforded little time.
Thankfully though, despite the rigors of the job, there is no dearth of fantastic football managers in the world - and some of them are extremely well paid too. Today, we take a look at the five best-paid football managers in the world at the moment.
#5 Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur) - £8.5m
Mauricio Pochettino joined Tottenham Hotspur from Southampton in the summer of 2014 and had an immediate impact, guiding the club to the final of the League Cup. Even though he finished second best against Chelsea in the final, the Argentinean ensured that Tottenham finished 5th in the league at the end of the season.
Since then, Spurs have been on the rise and Pochettino has transformed them into a force to reckon with.
The Argentinean was very close to a Premier League triumph in the 2015-16 season, before faltering in the month of May to allow Leicester City to win the league. Despite the fact that Pochettino has yet to win silverware with Spurs, he has been lauded for turning Tottenham into one of the most exciting teams in Europe.
Reaching the Champions League final last season showed just how brilliant the 47-year-old has been for Spurs in recent years. Even though his team has been struggling this season, the Argentinean is expected to turn things around soon.
The Tottenham Hotspur boss signed a new deal last May in the aftermath of three back to back top-four finishes in the Premier League. The five-year deal is worth £42.5m and sees the Argentinean earn a cool £8.5m a year, making him the second-best paid manager in the Premier League at the moment.
Also check out: EPL table La liga table 2019-20 Champions League table
#4 Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) - £10.5m
When Zinedine Zidane left Real Madrid at the end of the 2017-18 season, he was earning around €7.5m a year. During his 2.5-year stint, the Frenchman took the club to unprecedented heights, securing the first-ever hat-trick of UEFA Champions League titles. He also won one LaLiga title, one Spanish Supercup, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA World Cup titles.
It was a highly fruitful association between the club and its former star. During his first stint, Zidane registered a win rate of 69.8%, as his team averaged around 2.6 goals per game.
After two brief managerial changes in the 2018-19 season, Real Madrid were in deep waters, and Zidane returned to steer the ship in March 2019. The Frenchman might have failed to replicate the success from his first stint, but he did secure a massive pay hike when he agreed to take charge of Real Madrid once again.
Zidane reportedly earns an impressive €12m or £10.5m per year at the moment, which makes him the third-best paid manager in LaLiga and the fourth highest paid football manager in the world.
#3 Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) - £15.2m
The Spaniard is widely regarded as the best football manager in the world at the moment. Pep Guardiola came to the fore through his exploits with an invincible Barcelona side, before also achieving success in Germany with Bayern Munich.
But his toughest job by far awaited him in the Premier League when he took over as the manager of Manchester City in the summer of 2016.
Guardiola's start was slow, but true to the expectations, the Spaniard managed to transform City into one of the best teams in Europe. The team won back to back Premier League titles and also made history last season, becoming the first team to win a domestic treble.
Under Guardiola's guidance, the reigning Premier League champions have turned into one of the most entertaining teams in the world, playing free-flowing attacking football and scoring goals for fun.
The Spaniard was already earning around £15.2m a year before he signed a contract extension last May that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2021 season. Whether he has earned any pay hike is unclear, but Guardiola is still the highest-paid manager in the Premier League and at least the third highest-earning manager in world football.
#2 Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona) - £20.2m
The Barcelona manager might be under tremendous pressure at the Camp Nou after a string of bad results this season, but there’s no denying that Ernesto Valverde’s domestic record has been impeccable. The Spanish manager won the LaLiga in both of his first two seasons since joining in the summer of 2017, while also winning the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup once.
The only downside of his reign has been Barcelona’s inability to win the UEFA Champions League. There’s no doubt that it is the trophy that the Spaniard (as well as the Catalans) crave the most at the moment, and they narrowly missed out last season after exiting in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual champions Liverpool.
Despite the fact that the reigning champions of Spain have stuttered in the LaLiga this season, Valverde’s wards are still top of the league after 11 games, thanks to a superior goal difference.
For all his efforts, the Spanish manager is handsomely reimbursed by the club. Valverde was previously earning a mammoth €24m or £20.2m a year, and he also signed a contract extension in March of this year. Regardless of whether the new deal had resulted in a salary hike, Valverde is at least the second-best paid manager in LaLiga.
#1 Diego Simeone - £35.9m
The former Argentina skipper was a formidable player on the pitch, and his managerial style is steeped in similar traits. Diego Simeone challenged and ended Real Madrid and Barcelona’s duopoly in LaLiga after taking charge of Atletico Madrid in 2011.
The Argentinean transformed Atletico Madrid’s fortunes, winning one LaLiga title, two Europa Leagues and one Copa del Rey during his time. He also reached the final of the UEFA Champions League twice.
Simeone is in his ninth season with Atletico Madrid at the moment and he has successfully transformed the Red and Whites into a force in European football. The Argentinean admirably managed to rebuild the team during his tenure, adjusting well to the numerous departing stars and reinforcing very well himself.
Whether he is the best coach in the world might be up for debate, but there’s no doubt that Simeone is the best-paid football manager in the world at the moment. The Argentinean extended his contract with Atletico Madrid until 2022 in March of this year and currently earns an astronomical £35.9m per year.
