The 11 Highest Paid Managers in European Football
By 90min
The definition of what a football manager is may have changed over the years, but they are arguably still the most important person at a club as it remains their job to 'manage' the players, oversee training and pick the team, with responsibility for results, good or bad, at their door.
Here's a look at the 11 highest paid managers (using annual salary) in European club football right now...
Updated: 9 January 2020
Thomas Tuchel - £6.4m/€7.5m
Thomas Tuchel is believed to have had a 50% pay rise when he agreed a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of the 2018/19 campaign.
The German coach won Ligue 1 in his debut season as expected, but PSG once more struggled in Europe after being victim to an unlikely Manchester United comeback, as well as loosing grip on the Coupe de France after years of dominance.
Source: L’Equipe
Jurgen Klopp - £7m
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is estimated to earn at least £7m per season at Anfield, having arrived at the club in the autumn of 2015 to take over from Brendan Rodgers.
That money doesn't make him anything like the best-paid manager in the Premier League, but it is believed to be close to double the salary he was taking home at old club Borussia Dortmund.
Source: Goal
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - £7.5m
Manchester United are thought to be paying Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just half the salary that predecessor Jose Mourinho was earning at Old Trafford, although £7.5m still marks a vast increase on the £400,000 the Norwegian is said to have been on at Molde in his last job.
Solskjaer has had something of a rollercoaster year in charge of the club he once served so well as a player. Some outstanding results and performances have been mixed with some dreadful ones, but there is a public belief the blame at Old Trafford lies further up the hierarchy.
Source: Daily Mirror
Brendan Rodgers - £8m
Having returned Leicester to the upper echelons of English football, Brendan Rodgers was financially rewarded when he signed a new Foxes contract in December 2019.
That deal came at a time when Arsenal were in need of a manager and were thought to be sniffing around the former Liverpool and Celtic boss. Not only did the improved terms benefit Rodgers, they protected Leicester against potential poaching as well.
Source: Leicester Mercury
Antonio Conte - £8.5m/€10m
Inter boss Antonio Conte walked back into Serie A as the league’s highest paid manager when he was appointed by the Nerazzurri in May 2019 after nearly a year out of the game.
It is thought that Conte, who has previously won three league titles with Juventus and one with Chelsea, is in line for contractual pay rise in his second season at San Siro.
Source: The Independent
Zinedine Zidane - £10.2m/€12m
Zinedine Zidane walked back into the Real Madrid job in March 2019 and pocketed a hefty pay rise on the €7.5m plus bonuses he was reported to be earning during his first spell at the club.
This time around the four-time Champions League winner (three as a coach, one as a player) is said to be earning a net salary of €12m in the Spanish capital. It suggests that his pre-tax wages might actually be significantly larger.
Source: El Confidencial
Carlo Ancelotti - £11.5m
Carlo Ancelotti was earning a relatively handsome sum in excess of £5m prior to his dismissal at Napoli. But since quickly returning to management with Everton, the Italian is now being paid more than twice that by the ambitious Toffees.
Ancelotti is on Merseyside as a three-time Champions League winning coach, with Everton hoping he is the man to guide them into the competition.
Source: Daily Mirror
Jose Mourinho - £15m
When Jose Mourinho surprisingly landed the Tottenham job in November 2019, it was reported that his salary was around twice that of predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.
That is simply the going rate for a coach with a reputation as one of the best of all time and Spurs will hope Mourinho can deliver the club's first major trophy since 2008.
Source: Daily Mail
Ernesto Valverde - £19.6m/€23m
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has so far enjoyed a monopoly in La Liga after winning the Spanish title in each of his first two seasons at Camp Nou, although he has fallen short each time when it comes to the Champions League.
The 55-year-old is under contract at Camp Nou until the end of 2019/20 after extending it in Febraury 2019, with the additional option of a further year.
Source: France Football
Pep Guardiola - £20.4m
It was not clear in 2018 whether Pep Guardiola's contract extension came with a pay rise, but the Manchester City boss is still the best-paid manager in the Premier League on a salary thought to be in excess of £20m per season.
The Spaniard is under contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2021, but when speaking towards the end of 2019 he commented that he is already 'open' to agreeing a new one.
Source: France Football
Diego Simeone - £34.9m/€41m
The latest contract Diego Simeone signed at Atletico Madrid was reported to have put him on a salary around that of former star player Antoine Griezmann.
Having spent three years with the club as a player, the Argentine returned to the club as coach in 2011 and has crammed a lot in, winning two Europa Leagues, the Copa del Rey, La Liga and reaching two Champions League finals during that time.
Source: France Football
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