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The 10 Highest Paid Football Managers In The World

07 Oct, 2025

Top-level professional footballers are amongst the richest sportspeople on the planet. Thanks to the huge amount of money that has been poured into the game over the years by fans, broadcasters, foreign investors and commercial sponsors, clubs have an abundance of cash to spend. As a result, player salaries have reached unbelievable heights in top leagues like the English Premier League.

In the modern day, managers and head coaches are often seen as more disposablel than these elite-level ‘assets’ in the playing squad. However, the difficulty of their role, and the skills they bring on board, mean there’s still huge money to be made for the most impressive coaches in the game. In this article we’ll be exploring who the highest-paid football managers in the world are in 2025.

How Much Do Football Managers Get Paid?

The amount earned by professional football managers can vary immensely. In the English third and fourth tiers (League One and League Two) salaries typically average around £80,000-£180,000 per year, according to Analyisport.

In the second tier, salaries can vary even more, with some newly promoted coaches earning wages that aren’t far off League One level, while high-profile bosses at ambitious, wealthy clubs can earn far more (for example Wayne Rooney, who was reportedly paid £1.5m per year at Birmingham City, although he dismissed these claims).

Once you get up to the Premier League, manager salaries will shoot up, typically ranging from around £5 million per pear to £20 million per year.

At international level, manager salaries for the most famous, illustrious nations around - the likes of Brazil, France, Italy, Germany and England - can sometimes reach as high as top-level club coaches. Thomas Tuchel, for example, reportedly earns £6-7 million per year as England boss.

But this is still less than the German took home at Chelsea, and for the most part, it’s the elite club managers that attract the highest salaries of all.

The Top 10 Highest Paid Football Managers In The World

The financial landscape of world football is always shifting, and the huge recent investment of Gulf states like Saudi Arabia has had a serious impact on where some of the world’s most talented managers and players operate. This list is therefore subject to change; for now though, these are the world’s highest paid managers.

#10. Unai Emery (Aston Villa)

When Unai Emery took over at Aston Villa in November 2022, the club were languishing towards the bottom of the Premier League. He soon sparked a rapid rise up the table, followed by Europa League and ultimately Champions League qualification.

It took big money to prise Emery away from Villaereal in the first place, with Villa paying the Spanish outfit a £5.2m buy out fee, while the Basque manager's subsequent success has left him earning an estimated salary of £8.3 million per year.

Fenerbahce's recent sacking of veteran manager Jose Mourinho (who was earning around £9m per year in Turkey) allowed Emery to push his way into the top 10 highest paid football managers in the world.

#9. Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil)

It's not often that international managers earn as much as the highest paid club coaches, but it's also not often that they come with the huge reputation enjoyed by Carlo Ancelotti.

The only manager to have won five UEFA Champions League trophies, the iconic Italian is revered for his astute man management and ability to instil players with unwavering confidence and commitment to the cause.

At Brazil, he's been tasked with rejuvenating a beleaguered national team that hasn't reached a World Cup semi-final since 2014 (a damning record for the world's most successful men's international team). As he prepares his team for the 2026 tournament in North America, Ancelotti is netting a huge salary worth around £8.4m per year.

#8. Matthias Jaissle (Al-Ahli)

When Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund decided to take over several of the Saudi Pro League's most successful sides and plough billions into improving the standard of domestic football, the sport's global balance shifted.

In recent years, several talented European and South American coaches have been attracted to the Gulf state due to its enormous spending power, one individual being the German coach Matthias Jaissle.

Having won consecutive Austrian Championships with Red Bull Salzburg, also guiding the club to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time, Jaissle was poached by Al-Ahli in 2023.

Many English football fans may be unfamiliar with Jaissle's work, but today he's one of the world's best paid coaches, earning an incredible £9.6m per year in the Saudi Pro League.

#7. Luis Enrique (Paris Saint Germain)

Tied in terms of salary with Jaissle is a man who undeniably has a far more illustrious reputation across Europe: Luis Enrique. The Champions League-winning PSG manager received plenty of praise for shaking up a consistently underperforming, overpaid team, injecting youth, talent, and hunger, and turning them into European Cup winners for the first time in 2024/25.

Previously a well-respected manager for Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Luis Enrique moved to Paris with a reputation for attractive, possession-based football, and the club's Qatari ownership were happy to bay big money to secure his services.

The Spaniard is said to be earning £9.6m at PSG.

#5. David Moyes (Everton)

Everton boss David Moyes is one of only three people to have managed over 700 Premier League games, the others being EPL titans Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Over stints at Everton, West Ham United, and Manchester United, the Scot has built up a reputation as an astute tactician and passionate leader; however, despite this reputation, few fans would expect him to be the fifth-highest paid manager in the world.

Moyes' inclusion in this list is down to Everton's mega rich owners, the Friedkin Group: CEO Thomas Friedkin has an estimated net worth of $7.8 billion and he's clearly prepared to invest heavily in the Merseyside club, with manager David Moyes earning a huge £12.5m per year plus bonuses, according to Give Me Sport.

#6. Jorge Jesus (Al-Nassr)

Cristiano Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr unsurprisingly has a reputation for splashing out when it comes to manager wages. They previously paid Italian coach Stefano Pioli an incredible £15.5m according to some accounts, and after terminating his contract in the summer of 2025, they brought in the veteran Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus on an estimated salary of £10.4 million.

Al-Nassr have made several managerial changes over the last few years in their efforts to win the Saudi Pro League for the first time since 2018/19. They'll be hoping the ridiculous wages they're paying Jesus will help do the job.

#4. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

Many fans view the 2025/26 season as crunch time for Mikel Arteta: the Arsenal boss has done a fantastic job of overhauling the club's behind-the-scenes setup and culture, bringing in fresh faces, developing young talent and turning the Gunners into consistent Premier League title challengers for the first time since the 2000s.

However, pressure on the Spaniard has grown slightly due to the lack of any trophies (other than the 2019/20 FA Cup) won during this period. Whatever happens, Arteta's time in charge should be seen as a major success overall, and the 43-year-old's salary of £15.6m shows just how highly valued he is at the Emirates.

A new deal penned at the start of the 2024/25 season rubberstamped this relationship, making him one of the best-paid managers in world football.

#3. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers of the Premier League era, winning six English titles at Manchester City (including a domestic and European treble in 2021/22) and having a huge influence on the style of football played by coaches across the English football pyramid.

So it's no surprise that he's the highest paid football manager in the UK, reportedly on a whopping £20.7 million per year.

It's also worth noting that it took a huge amount to persuade the Catalonian boss to move to the Premier League; as well as guaranteeing this huge salary, Man City also put several key members of staff in place in advance to ensure Guardiola took the role, most notably ex-sporting director Txiki Begiristain.

At a club where a number of players are paid north of £200,000 per week (with the likes of Bernardo Silva, Omar Mahmoush, and John Stones all pocketing over $17m annually), only star striker Erling Haaland earns more than Pep.

#2. Simone Inzaghi (Al-Hilal)

Another example of Saudi Arabia's huge spending power in the modern game, Italian boss Simone Inzaghi became the world's second highest paid manager in the summer of 2025, when he left Internazionale to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a deal worth an incredible £25.3 million per year, as reported by BBC Sport.

Inzaghi had previously guided Inter to two successive Champions League finals, and took over from Jorge Jesus (now at Al-Nassr) after he was sacked following a disappointing Asian Champions League campaign.

The goal for Al-Hilal's incredibly well-paid new boss will be domestic and continental success, and with high-profile players like Darwin Nunez, Theo Hernandez, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, and Kalidou Koulibaly on the books, that's certainly achievable.

#1. Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)

For many years, legendary Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has been the highest-paid manager in world football, consistently surpassing the likes of Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp, and Antonio Conte.

The former Argentina captain's huge earning power comes down to the value he's shown Atletico for well over a decade; under his guidance, the club have been able to repeatedly compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid, winning two La Liga titles, two Europa Leagues, and reaching two Champions League finals.

His ability to squeeze the absolute best out of a strong but often unflashy group of players means he's paid more than any other coach in world football: a huge £25.9 million per year.

Want to find out more about the finances of football? Check out our guide to the most valuable teams in the world.

Author: Fred Garratt-Stanley

Lead Content Writer

Fred Garratt-Stanley is an experienced football writer and journalist, specialising in industry insights, tactical analysis, and the culture of the game. He has contributed to publications such as NME, GQ, The Quietus, and Resident Advisor. As Lead Content Writer at Jobs In Football, he focuses on providing reliable, research-driven articles to help people navigate careers in the football industry.