While fans have raised their concerns surrounding the ever evolving and vastly high-priced wages that a number of football players find themselves earning every week, manager wages have also seen a sudden upsurge in recent years as clubs look to entice some of the world’s most coveted names to take charge at the helm, with a deep influx of payment also added to their existing contracts.
By now, fans have become familiar with a number of managers who are reportingly earning a monumental amount of money from their salary that has several names earning more than some of the world’s most distinguished players.
In the Premier League, top clubs have looked to attract interest from a wide array of sublime intellect in the managerial department, with these contracts often including a hefty figure that is sure to be a welcoming site for any football manager.
As expected, due to these sides receiving a bested interest and popularity from fans, they are able to offer a much greater amount of money for the best names compared to other clubs that don’t attract the intrigue from more casual fanbases.
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is reportingly earning $24 million per year since his contract extension in 2020, with Guardiola previously earning $15 million after initially arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016.
Given that Guardiola has since won three Premier League titles and delivered a number of domestic cup accolades, it’s fair to say that he has been worth every penny of the contract extension that he agreed to.
Earning $18 million per year is Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, who has also previously signed an extension and has helped Liverpool lift a sixth Champions League trophy in 2019 and win their first league title since 1990. It is hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve the pay.
(Liverpool beat English rival Tottenham Hotspur in dramatic fashion)
Klopp’s side are also major favourites to reclaim the title back from the clutches of his close rival Guardiola, with the Reds touted as 13/4 to win the league this year in the current football odds available on 888 Sport.
Chelsea also remain in the running to win the league this year, after claiming their second Champions League last season that has ensured manager Thomas Tuchel will remain at the Bridge, and continue earning an impressive $8.5million per year.
Whilst the ‘top six’ clubs are expected to pay their managers a colossal sum of money, some teams that are expected to finish mid-table or even in a relegation battle, are still paying their manager an absurd wage.
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa is the fourth highest earning manager in the league and is pocketing around $10 million a year, a figure that may shock a number of fans given that the Whites were only promoted back to the Premier League last season and were absent from the league for over 15 years.
Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti was earning $11 million last season but failed to steer the Toffees into European contention that saw him leave the club in the summer to re-join Real Madrid with new manager Rafa Benitez pocketing $7million for his services, whether they are warranted by a split Everton fanbase following his announcement as manager.
Even the likes of Norwich and Brentford are still reportingly paying handsomely for the services of Daniel Farke and Thomas Frank at a hefty price with a number of managers now earning more than most players and have seen a major rise in their salaries in the past 20 years.
Some managers wages are even greater than what most teams are willing to fork out to pay their entire squad and with names such as Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy now pocketing much less than a number of the aforementioned names listed above, it certainly highlights how drastic some manager’s wages are to even the league’s most elite names.
The astronomical wage rises in football
An article in 2012 from This Is Money, highlighted that football wages had risen a staggering 1,500% in 20 years, and given that a number of names are now reportingly earning almost double what was earnt in 2012, that percentage continues to escalate at an astonishing rate.
Legendary manager Brian Clough’s reported net worth before his tragic passing in 2004 was around $800,000 compared to the $40million net worth of Pep Guardiola, with many people still believing that Clough was one of the greatest managers to ever live.
While player wages are still on the rise at an astronomical rate, managers are also earning an incredible salary that may shock a number of footballing fans as the game’s wages continue to evolve.
Fans may be familiar with the shocking wages that star names such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. are all earning, yet more teams both in England and in other major leagues are more than willing to offer a major amount of money to help attract a massive commodity in the coaching department to help steer their team to future success.