Football managers may be in a highly stressful environment, but they are certainly rewarded well for their services.
Even when they’re sacked, they still earn enormous amounts. In fact, Jose Mourinho has totalled more than £97 million/$115 million for all the times he has been fired during his managerial career — who knew losing your job could be so rewarding?
We look at the best-paid active managers in world football and what they earn a year, according to 2022 data from sportkez.com.
Who is the highest-paid manager in the world?
As of 2023, Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone remains the world’s best-paid manager, ahead of Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
Six of the top 10 have jobs at Premier League clubs, while there are no Bundesliga or Ligue 1 coaches on this list.
| Manager | Club | Salary | |
| 1. | Diego Simeone | Atletico Madrid | £37m/$44.2m |
| 2. | Pep Guardiola | Man City | £20m/$23.9m |
| 3. | Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | £15m/$17.9m |
| 4. | Antonio Conte | Tottenham | £14m/$16.7m |
| 5. | Jose Mourinho | Roma | £13m/$15.5m |
| 6. | Graham Potter | Chelsea | £12m/$14.3m |
| 7. | Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid | £11m/$13.1m |
| 8. | Brendan Rodgers | Leicester City | £10m/$11.5m |
| 9. | Xavi | Barcelona | £9.5m/$11.3m |
| 10. | Erik ten Hag | Man United | £9m / $10.75m |
World’s best-paid managers: The top 10
10. Erik ten Hag: £9 million / $10.75 million
Ten Hag’s arrival at Manchester United last July pushed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta from this top 10. The former Ajax boss came through a rocky start at Old Trafford and now has United progressing back towards the standards they wish to set. They ended their six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup in February and they could still win a quadruple, although a humiliating 7-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield means their realistic hopes of a Premier League title will have to wait until next season.
9. Xavi: £9.5 million/$11.3 million
Barcelona opted to bring Xavi back to the club as Ronald Koeman’s replacement midway through last season. After sealing a Champions League qualification spot, Xavi was backed in the transfer window as Barca activated various economic ‘levers’, with Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Robert Lewandowski all arriving at Camp Nou. The Catalans endured European disappointment but they won the Supercopa de Espana and are firmly on course for the La Liga title.
8. Brendan Rodgers: £10 million/$11.9 million
Leicester City’s manager delivered their first ever FA Cup triumph in 2021, beating Chelsea 1-0 in a tight final at Wembley. Under his leadership, the Foxes missed out on Champions League football two years in a row only by slender margins, but things have become problematic in 2022/23 and the Foxes find themselves battling against Premier League relegation. Still, there’s little doubt about Rodgers’ ability as a top manager.
7. Carlo Ancelotti: £11 million/$13.1 million
Carlo Ancelotti has won the lot over the course of his managerial career and in 2022 became the first manager to win all five major European Leagues as Real Madrid triumphed in La Liga. Los Blancos then beat Liverpool in the Champions League final, making Ancelotti the first coach to win the competition four times. That could become five in 2023.
MORE: Champions League quarterfinals 2022/23 — who’s in?
6. Graham Potter: £12 million/$14.3 million
A new face at the top earners’ table, Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea in September with the new man in charge at Stamford Bridge receiving a sizeable wage increase from his previous deal at Brighton & Hove Albion. The Blues went through a torrid run of form, winning just two of 15 matches in all competitions from early November to early March, but consecutive victories over Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund steadied the ship.
5. Jose Mourinho: £13 million/$15.5 million
‘The Special One’ was always going to make the list. His fall-off from the elite level in recent years doesn’t take away from the legacy he’s built in the sport over his managerial career. At Roma, he’s hoping to build a team in Italy to challenge for Serie A once again, and they are firmly in the hunt to return to the Champions League next season. They also won the Europa Conference League in 2021/22.
4. Antonio Conte: £14 million/$16.7 million
Widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world, Conte has won trophies in Italy and England, thriving at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan. At Tottenham, things just haven’t worked out: inconsistent league form, a poor FA Cup exit to Sheffield United and a tame Champions League knockout defeat at the hands of AC Milan have led to heavy speculation that Conte’s time in North London could be coming to an end.
3. Jurgen Klopp: £15 million/$17.9 million
Liverpool’s boss has become a hero to the people of the city, delivering them their first Premier League title in their history (and their first league triumph since 1989/90), as well as winning their sixth title as European champions in 2019. They came within two games of an unprecedented quadruple last season as they claimed the FA Cup and Carabao Cup but fell just short in the Premier League and Champions League, and although 2022/23 has been less successful, that 7-0 defeat of Manchester United will live long in Anfield memory.
2. Pep Guardiola: £20 million/$23.9 million
Widely recognised as the best manager in the world, former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has revolutionised Manchester City since taking over in 2016, winning 11 trophies including four Premier League titles. Last November, he extended his contract to 2025, meaning further success for City is not far away.
1. Diego Simeone: £37 million/$44.2 million
The highest-earning manager in the world, and by some distance too, is Simeone. Having been at the club for over 10 years now, he is venerated by Atletico Madrid fans, winning eight trophies, including two La Liga titles, and reaching two UEFA Champions League finals.