Airtime and website pages are often devoted to player salaries. Less focus is placed on the wages of managers, aside from when clubs have to pay out vast sums after a firing.
The best managers are at least as significant as the top players when it comes to deciding the biggest football betting markets, however.
All figures courtesy of Give Me Sport.
Simone Inzaghi - £8.8 million
After spending most of his playing career with Lazio, Simone Inzaghi began his managerial career in their youth system before taking over the first team in 2016. Inzaghi led I Biancocelesti to Coppa Italia glory, and a 53.4% winning rate.
In 2021, Inter came calling. Inzaghi replaced Scudetto-winning coach Antonio Conte in the hot seat. He has won two Coppa Italias as Inter manager, and took the Nerazzurri to the 2023 Champions League final.
The former Italy manager is certainly earning his hefty salary at San Siro with Inter cruising towards the Serie A title.
Erik ten Hag - £9 million
After winning three Eredivisie titles with Ajax, hopes were high when Erik ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford. His first season appeared to be laying the foundations for a step forward in 2023-24, but that progress is yet to be seen.
Jim Ratcliffe’s part-purchase of the club has brought some fresh hope. Ten Hag’s willingness to discard players and some more poor recruitment leaves the Red Devils a long, long way off the Premier League’s top three, however.
Will the club’s hierarchy tolerate missing out on the Champions League?
Carlo Ancelotti - £9.6 million
There was considerable reporting that Carlo Ancelotti would leave Real Madrid at the end of the season to manage Brazil.
Those rumours were extinguished when the Italian surprisingly penned a three-year contract extension at Santiago Bernabeu.
Don Carlo is the most decorated manager in Champions League history. He is the only manager ever to have won the league title in all of Europe’s top five leagues.
Mauricio Pochettino - £10.4 million
The Todd Boehly era at Stamford Bridge has been mayhem. Signings have been costly, largely ineffective and plentiful. They used four different managers last season before Boehly and co. settled on Mauricio Pochettino as their man for 2023-24.
Pochettino is already under pressure. Qualifying for Europe looks to be out of reach, and Chelsea were defeated by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
The combination of Chelsea’s outrageous spending and Pochettino’s reputation mean it’s not surprising he’s on this list. The Argentine is yet to live up to his reputation or salary in west London, though.
Thomas Tuchel - £10.6 million
Thomas Tuchel is departing Bayern Munich at the end of the season, but he will still collect one of the highest manager’s salaries in world football before then.
Tuchel righted the ship at the Allianz Arena last season, winning the Bundesliga on the last day over Borussia Dortmund.
This season has not lived up to expectations, even after acquiring Harry Kane. Bayern are a considerable distance behind Bayer Leverkusen, and could see their run of 11 consecutive league titles come to an end.
Max Allegri - £11.3 million
After winning over 70% of games in his first stint with Juventus, Max Allegri’s second spell has been a little underwhelming. The squad is not quite as talented, however, and there have been plenty of off-field distractions.
Allegri looks set to get the Old Lady back into the Champions League for the 2024-25 season. There are always going to be critics when you’re managing Juventus, but this has been a solid season in Turin.
Steven Gerrard - £15.2 million
Al-Ettifaq are not among the richest clubs in the world by their revenue. The Saudi Pro League has been free spending over the last 18 months, though, and that extends to manager salaries.
Steven Gerrard is the only manager on this list working outside of Europe’s top five leagues. While others have backtracked on their decision to move to Saudi Arabia, Gerrard has doubled down, and it’s hardly surprising when he’s receiving such a massive salary.
Gerrard has won 21 of 63 matches since leaving Rangers.
Jurgen Klopp - £16 million
Having announced his departure from Liverpool at the season, there’s a lot of discussion to be had about where Jurgen Klopp ranks among the top Premier League managers ever. Whether you have Klopp in the top three or outside the top five, there is no downplaying his impact at Liverpool.
Klopp has the highest winning percentage of any Liverpool manager. Only Bill Shankly, Tom Watson and Bob Paisley have managed more matches for the club.
Links to the vacant Bayern job are inevitable. If burnout has ended Klopp’s Merseyside stint, don’t be surprised if he takes a year off before returning to club management.
Pep Guardiola - £20 million
Pep Guardiola is unquestionably among the greatest football managers ever. The Spaniard also manages one of the richest clubs in the world, so it’s no surprise his salary is so high.
Guardiola took City to the treble in 2022-23. Repeating that feat is possible in 2023-24. The Spaniard has already managed more Manchester City matches than he did for Barcelona B, Barcelona and Bayern Munich combined.
What initially looked to be a three- or four-year project at the Etihad Stadium has extended into something more significant. Why would Guardiola stop when his team are so dominant?
Diego Simeone - £30 million
There have been murmurs that Diego Simeone could leave Atletico Madrid for a few years. He is the most successful and longest-serving manager in club history, having won two La Liga titles and managed over 600 fixtures.
Atleti have dropped off title-contending pace over the last few seasons. Even so, whichever manager succeeds Simeone at the Wanda Metropolitano has an almost impossible task.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
