30 Highest-Paid Football Managers in the World (2026)

Being a football manager is a thankless task. It brings an incredible amount of pressure, often without too much reward. Unless a manager retires or resigns, they will be sacked from their job as soon as results become less than satisfactory. But if they are good enough to manage at the top level, they will be extremely well paid for the gig.

An insane amount of money is flying around in the beautiful game, with elite players and managers being paid mind-blowing sums. The finances have only continued to grow over the years, especially with Saudi Pro League clubs handing out huge contracts to lure top coaches to their shores.

We’ve outlined the 30 highest-paid managers in the world, spanning from the international game to the Champions League. Let’s take a closer look…

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

First, let’s look at the managers who just miss out on a place inside the top 10. England boss Thomas Tuchel is down in 26th place, earning £5 million per year – the same figure as the likes of Michael Carrick at Manchester United, David Moyes at Everton and Frank Lampard at Coventry City.

Newcastle United’s new manager Matthias Jaissle is on £6 million a year, which is not that far off Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany’s deal. Incredibly, Ruben Amorim earns more than both at AC Milan.

Two managers are currently pocketing a hefty £8 million a year: Tottenham’s Roberto De Zerbi and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery.

10

Enzo Maresca – Manchester City

Yearly Wage: £10m

REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Enzo Maresca has bravely accepted the challenge of leading Manchester City after Pep Guardiola’s departure. Replacing a legendary manager is often an impossible job, but Maresca has a collection of world-class players at his disposal and the club are counting on him hitting the ground running during his debut season at the Etihad Stadium.

The former Chelsea boss has been handed a lucrative £10 million a year contract but will be acutely aware that he’s under pressure to deliver silverware from the off. So far so good is the sentiment, with the Cityzens top of the Premier League after five matches, having a 100 per cent record.

9

Luciano Spalletti – Juventus

Yearly Wage: £11.2m

Luciano Spalletti has an almighty task of getting Juventus back to where they belong – at the pinnacle of world football. But it’s been a while since they’ve been there, and the fact he’s the ninth highest-paid manager around is just added pressure for the former Italy boss.

Having won the Serie A title with Napoli in the past, as well as picking up the competition’s Manager of the Year award three times, he no doubt has the wisdom to do achieve he’s set out to do.

8

Oliver Glasner – Nottingham Forest

Yearly Wage: £11.5m

REUTERS/David Klein

After winning the FA Cup and Europa Conference League with Crystal Palace, Oliver Glasner was being linked with a host of top clubs, including Manchester United. But it’s Nottingham Forest who the 52-year-old coach has signed for.

Forest have made the Austrian one of the world’s highest-paid coaches and hope he can make an immediate impact at the City Ground after the club flirted with relegation during the 2025-26 Premier League campaign. Sitting in 13th after five matches isn’t the start they would ahve hoped for so far.

7

Xabi Alonso – Chelsea

Yearly wage: £11.5m

Chelsea’s American ownership, towed along precariously by Todd Boehly, sure do know how to spend money. If that wasn’t already proven by the fact three of their transfer windows feature on the list of the most expensive in football history, then the fact they’ve tied Xabi Alonso down to a contract that makes him the Premier League’s highest-earner should be.

It’s a massive gamble to have their manager on such high wages, especially since he was quick to fall out with the Real Madrid hierarchy at his last job. After winning Bayer Leverkusen an invincible Bundesliga title, Alonso’s appointment could pay off, but it could also leave the Blues with egg on their face… again.

6

Ange Postecoglou – Al-Nassr

Yearly Wage: £11.7m

Ange Postecoglou via Reuters/Paul Childs

Despite a disappointing spell at Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou has landed on his feet with a £11.7 million a year deal with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

The ex-Tottenham manager now finds himself managing the likes of Joao Felix, Sadio Mane and, of course, a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who is potentially playing his final season in professional football. How he manages to handle the Portuguese legend may determine whether or not his stint with the Saudi side is a success, as a rift has already threatened to widen between the two, despite Al-Nassr seemignly well-placed to win the league title early on.

5

Jose Mourinho

Yearly Wage: £12m

One of the biggest managerial moves in recent times has been Jose Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid. Former club Benfica received £13 million in compensation as the Special One returned to the Bernabeu.

Mourinho arrived back at Madrid, having been the preferred candidate of club president Florentino Perez, who won the club’s elections in June. The 63-year-old coach previously spent three years in charge between 2010/13, winning La Liga in 2011/12 as his side accrued 100 points – a record tally for the club.

4

Luis Enrique – Paris Saint-Germain

Yearly Wage: £16.9m

Luis Enrique has consistently been at the top of professional football for over a decade. After guiding Barcelona to a European treble, he is now occupying the hot seat in the French capital. Luis Enrique won Ligue 1 during his first season at the club but crashed out of the Champions League semi-finals with a whimper.

In his second season, however, he was able to go two steps further and help Les Parisiens claim their first-ever major honour with a record-breaking 5-0 win over Inter Milan. It completed a treble-winning season – Enrique’s second such campaign after having done the same with Barcelona in 2015. He now earns £16.9m with his filthy rich bosses rewarding him with a new deal after a second successive Champions League triumph.

3

Diego Simeone – Atletico Madrid

Yearly wage: £19.9m

For years, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone was the highest-paid manager in the world – and by some distance – but he now ranks third. The explosive Argentine managed to topple Barcelona and Real Madrid on two different occasions to lift the La Liga title and led the club, which he also once captained, to a pair of Champions League finals – both of which were painfully lost to city rivals, Real Madrid.

Throughout the 2022/23 campaign – which was soured by underwhelming domestic displays and a disastrous group-stage Champions League exit, sparking ill-will in the crowd and boardroom – there were growing whispers that Simeone’s illustrious reign could come to an end. But El Cholo would not go gently into that good night.

Crucially, Simeone’s players never lost faith in their coach and everyone else soon came around. The former Argentina international penned a four-year extension in November 2023 that came with a steep salary reduction, only improving Simeone’s legendary standing among a fan base that once again adored the seasoned tactician.

2

Simone Inzaghi – Al-Hilal

Yearly wage: £22m

After a few years of disappointment, Inter Milan returned to the summit of Italian and European football, and Simone Inzaghi was a big reason why. The tactician has stamped his authority on the team since arriving in 2021, lifting several domestic cups with the Nerazzurri, and advancing to the Champions League final in 2022/23 and 2024/25.

Deploying a dizzying and fluid style of football, the former Lazio striker also won the Serie A title in 2024 by beating bitter rivals AC Milan. But near-misses on the continent forced him to rethink his San Siro residence, as he opted to leave and instead prowled the touchline at Al-Hilal. The Saudi club have made him one of the highest-paid managers in the world, with a huge annual salary of £22m.

1

Mikel Arteta – Arsenal

Yearly wage: £25m

via Reuters

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is now making £25m a year, per the Times, after signing a lucrative new deal in north London in October. Although it hasn’t always been easy going, the Spaniard has done an incredible job at the Emirates Stadium, getting rid of the deadwood while implementing an effective brand of football which has put the Gunners back on the summit of English football.

Patience has been a virtue worth waiting for, given the north Londoners went all the way in both the Champions League and Premier League last season, winning the latter for the first time in 22 years. Off the back of that success, Arteta is now the best-paid manager in the world.

Data from Salary Leaks (unless stated otherwise) – correct as of 07/10/2026.