In normal walks of life, it’s usually seen as taboo to talk about how much money people earn, a marker of respect, a sign of collective humbleness and unity.
Thankfully, football possesses no such morals and we can indulge in the huge figures people earn with little to no repercussions.
Players’ pay packets are usually thrown around in comparisons or articles about transfers, but what about the managers? Who earns the most in the elite coaching game?
Here are the top ten earners in world football, with figures courtesy of the ?Daily Mail.
?10 – Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Yearly Salary: £7m
Weekly Wage: £134,615
Yeah, bet you weren’t expecting to see the reigning European champion and The Best FIFA Men’s Coach so far down on this list, were you??
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp earns a relatively modest amount compared to his rivals, peers and even his players, and plenty of clubs could probably buy out his contract and hand him a huge raise.
The German also likes to operate on shorter-term deals to keep his options open, yet in spite of all this, it’s hard to see him leaving anytime soon.
= 8 – Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona)
Yearly Salary: £8m
Weekly Wage: £153,846
So you’re telling us that Ernesto Valverde earns a whole million pounds more than Klopp only to throw away a three-goal lead against him in the Champions League? Seems fair.
With the Spaniard proving to be unpopular among Barcelona fans, it probably wouldn’t cost the club a huge amount to sack him. But where’s the fun in that? You earn your money, Ernesto.
= 8 – Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint Germain)
Yearly Salary: £8m
Weekly Wage: £153,846
Losing Champions League ties to teams from the north west of England really pays well, eh?
PSG hiring Tuchel to replace Unai Emery represented a change of philosophy, with an philosophy based on pressing and possession football over pragmatism.
And yet, while the German has made PSG easier on the eyes, he’ll likely be deemed a failure unless they make significant progress in Europe.
7 – Antonio Conte (Inter)
Yearly Salary: £9m
Weekly Wage: £173,077
Few managerial appointments this summer made people as excited as Antonio Conte’s at Inter.
Betraying Juventus in joining their fiercest rivals and reuniting with
His wobbles in Europe may have continued, but priority will be taking back the Italian crown.
= 5 – Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
Yearly Salary: £10m
Weekly Wage: £192,308
Real Madrid’s struggles seem to be getting a bit dull, particularly as they’re slowly figuring out how to be competent again. Boo, this Zidane.
The Frenchman’s return to the Santiago Bernabeu has been comparatively low-key to what you’d expect at the biggest club in world football – he’s spent a lot of time just trying to recruit Kylian Mbappe.
= 5 – Fabio Cannavaro (Guangzhou Evergrande)
Yearly Salary: £10m
Weekly Wage: £192,308
So the manager of Real Madrid earns as much as the manager of Guangzhou Evergrande?
The manager of Guangzhou Evergrande earns more than the managers of Inter, Barcelona, PSG and Liverpool?
Someone needs to do the maths on how many Freddos/Michu’s/Dortmund season tickets can be bought with Fabio Cannavaro’s salary.
4 – Rafael Benitez (Dalian Yifang)
Yearly Salary: £11.5m
Weekly Wage: £221,154
So the manager o— oh wait, we’ve done this already.
Looks like Rafael Benitez’s reward for putting up with Mike Ashley’s nonsense at Newcastle is a loooovely pay packet out in China – and a reunion with Salamon Rondon! The boys are back in town!
3 – Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Yearly Salary: £13m
Weekly Wage: £250,000
Pretty impressive negotiation tactics from Diego Simeone to negotiate a deal where for every % of possession Atletico Madrid have, he receives £1m. Top business from Cholo.
2 – Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur)
Yearly Salary: £15m
Weekly Wage: £288,462
Right, so how did Daniel Levy manage to pull this one off then? The money? The Mourinho? The money again?
Earning around £80,000 more than any Tottenham player and double what Mauricio Pochettino was receiving, fans will be hoping Mourinho can end their long wait for a trophy – and Levy will be hoping so too to avoid paying another expensive lay-off, no doubt.
1 – Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Yearly Salary: £20m
Weekly Wage: £384,615
Oh, don’t act so surprised.
?Was it ever going to be anyone other than the most sought after manager at one of the world’s richest clubs? Big money club pays big money to big manager.
He’d probably give up that salary for another Champions League title, and all.
Let’