Top football managers’ earnings per victory: Diego Simeone in a league of his own
This week the SportingPedia team switched focus from players to the men in charge. In our latest report we reveal how much the highest-paid football managers received for every league victory of their teams and the reward from the coaches’ perspective for each point, collected throughout the 21/22 season.
Our list features the three highest-paid managers in each of Europe’s best 5 leagues (plus one honorable addition) and how their respective teams fared across the previous season. It is curious to find out that only in Italy the 3 highest-paid managers were beaten to the title. There is no English representative, while four Italians, three Argentinians and three Germans make the list.
Key Takeaways
- Diego Simeone is by far the highest-paid manager in football
- Klopp & Guardiola combined pocket just over what the Atletico Madrid manager receives
- Atletico forked out just short of 2 million euros or 1,904,762 to Simeone for each of the 21 La Liga victories, secured last campaign
- European & Spanish Champions Real Madrid paid Ancelotti more than 4 times less than their city rivals to Diego Simeone
- All of last season’s French Ligue 1 three top-paid managers are now either jobless or in charge of another team
- Only in Italy none of the sides led by the 3 highest-earning coaches secured the title
- Stefano Pioli, who delivered the Italian title to Milan, was paid over 10 times less than Simeone, who finished 3rd in Spain
Victory 21/22
Point 21/22
Position 21/22
Diego Simeone
Argentina
Atletico Madrid
Antonio Conte
Italy
Tottenham
Pep Guardiola
Spain
Manchester City
Massimiliano Allegri
Italy
Juventus
Jurgen Klopp
Germany
Liverpool
Jose Mourinho
Portugal
Roma
Mauricio Pochettino
Argentina
PSG
Marcelino
Spain
Athletic Bilbao
Carlo Ancelotti
Italy
Real Madrid
Julian Nagelsmann
Germany
Bayern Munich
Simone Inzaghi
Italy
Inter
Gerardo Seoane
Switzerland
Bayer Leverkusen
Marco Rose
Germany
Borussia Dortmund
Christophe Galtier
France
Nice
Jorge Sampaoli
Argentina
Marseille
Stefano Pioli
Italy
Milan
Diego Simeone tops the chart for highest paid manager across Europe. He leads the way, receiving an annual salary of 40 million euros, with the 2nd-placed Pep Guardiola pocketing almost two times less – 22.68 millions for a 12 month period. Of course the manager’s responsibilities are much bigger than those of footballers, as they have to lead and improve a whole group of players. The fiery Argentinian has been in charge of Rojiblancos since December 2011 when he took the reins of a mid-table side.
He managed to transform Atletico and the capital side is now amongst the European elite, after featuring in two Champions League finals and twice winning the Europa League. On the domestic front he won La Liga when Real Madrid had Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo and Barcelona had the famous MSN trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar in 2014 and then again in 2021. Without a question, Diego Simeone is a top manager, but how much was each of his Atletico’s 71 points and 21 victories worth in the 21/22 season, compared to other elite coaches in Europe?
Atletico achieved 21 victories during the season in Spain, with Simeone receiving a jaw-dropping 1,904,762 euros per win, or €563,380 for each of the Rojiblancos 71 accumulated points. In stark contrast, Stefano Pioli, who led Milan to their 1st Italian title in 11 years, recorded 26 victories in Serie A and received just over €134K per win, which is 14 times less than what Simeone pocketed for a La Liga triumph.
“It is the president and executives who appoint the club’s manager, after deciding in what direction their team should head. Some are looking for immediate on-field results and count only titles, while others opt for a more steady approach and sign with the candidate who offers the most stability and has a vision for the long-term.” – commented SportingPedia’s football betting analyst Sean Foster. Do not forget to check some of his sports betting reviews here.
Diego Simeone
€1,904,762 per victory; €563,380 per point
Simeone did navigate Atletico to a 3rd place finish in La Liga’s last season. Rojiblancos accumulated 71 points in the course of the 21/22 season, 15 less than the champions Real Madrid. The already concluded term has been one of the worst for Simeone, as his team, usually renowned for its mean defense, conceded 43 goals – the most of the top 8 teams in the Spanish topflight. Each of the 71 gathered points cost Atletico a whopping 563,380 euros. In the Champions League Atletico crashed out at the ¼ finals stage after losing 1:0 on aggregate to Manchester City.
Antonio Conte
€812,727 per victory; €251,831 per point
After being appointed as the new coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the beginning of November 2021, Antonio Conte has completely changed how the team plays. They managed to secure a Champions League spot in the last rounds of the Premier League. They collected 71 points and won 22 of the 38 games in the English top flight. Antonio Conte pocketed 251,831 euros for each point, or 812,727 for a win. Spurs scored 69 goals and conceded 40 throughout the term.
Pep Guardiola
€782,069 per victory; €243,871 per point
Manchester City and Guardiola won the 4th Premier League crown for the past 5 years last season. The Sky-Blues triumphed with the title after gathering 93 points, just one more than Liverpool. The Spaniard once again failed to deliver the Champions League Cup to Manchester and given his record of just 1 victory in the elite continental tournament, questions arise as to if he is the right one to bring the most coveted club trophy to Etihad. City were on top of the Goals scored & Goal conceded charts.
Max Allegri
€700,000 per victory; €200,000 per point
Max Allegri’s 2nd stint at the helm of Juventus did not begin as planned, as the team finished in 4th position in the standings. His task was finding a solution to the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s late transfer back to Manchester United, but Allegri failed and as a result the Bianconeri struggled in attack, scoring just 57 goals – the 2nd worst of the top 10 teams. When we break it down the numbers show that the Italian received 200,000 euros for every point and 700,000 per victory.
Jurgen Klopp
€638,571 per victory; €194,348 per point
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the past season. A comeback from Manchester City in the last round of the Premier League denied them the second English top flight trophy in recent years. The Reds recorded 92 points and 28 wins for the season. The coach pocketed 194,348 euros for each one of the points his squad gathered throughout the term, or 638,571 per win. In terms of goals, the outfit scored 92 and conceded 36. They are tied for the best defense in the league, while being second only to the Citizens for the most goals in the league. Liverpool lost the Champions League final against Real Madrid, which is their 3rd final in the tournament for the last 6 years.
Jose Mourinho
€513,333 per victory; €146,667 per point
The legendary Portuguese returned to Italian football, taking the reins of Roma in the summer of 2021. He did not enjoy much of a success in Serie A, as the Romans finished 6th with 63 points. His team won 18 of the 38 league matches, but in May 2022 Mourinho became the first manager to have won all of the three continental competitions, with Roma triumphing in the 1st ever edition of the Europa Conference League.
Mauricio Pochettino
€507,692 per victory; €153,488 per point
After an unbelievable summer transfer window for PSG, marked by the incoming Leo Messi and Sergio Ramos among others, the expectations for Mauricio Pochettino were high. Although les Parisiens won the league it’s safe to say the Argentinian did not meet the expectations. PSG collected a total of 86 points in Ligue 1, 15 more than the 2nd placed Marseille. The coach took home 153,488 euros for each of those points. They lost to Lille in the round of 16 of the French Cup, while at the same stage of the Champions League, they were eliminated by Real Madrid, which ultimately costed Pochetinno his position.
Marcelino
€428,571 per victory; €109,091 per point
Athletic Bilbao ended in 8th position in the final La Liga standings and missed the chance to qualify for the European competitions. The Lions collected a total of 55 points across the 38 game campaign. Marcelino was paid €109,091 for every single point accumulated by his side. Athletic Bilbao triumphed with the Spanish Super Cup after defeating Real Madrid 1:0 in March. Only two other sides conceded less goals than Athletic in Spain’s top tier last season.
Carlo Ancelotti
€420,000 per victory; €126,977 per point
The Italian added two more La Liga and Champions League titles for Real Madrid to his already full trophy cabinet. In Spain he had it relatively easy and Los Blancos finished 13 points ahead of their closest challengers. Ancelotti was paid 126,977 euros for each of Real’s 86 accumulated points. On their way to lifting their 14th Champions League title, Real defeated PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, all of whom were credited with better chances to win the competition by the bookies. Ancelotti is the only manager in history to win the title in all 5 of the big leagues.
Julian Nagelsmann
€333,333 per victory; €103,896 per point
The youngest manager in our report navigated the Bavarian giants to a record 10th consecutive German title. Bayern Munich collected 77 points and recorded 24 victories en route to their Bundesliga triumph. In Europe Nagelsmann and his team crashed out at the quarter finals of the Champions League at the hands of Villarreal.
Simone Inzaghi
€297,600 per victory; €88,571 per point
Inter won the Scudetto in 20/21 with Antonio Conte in charge, but his successor Simone Inzaghi was unable to lead Inter to back-to-back Italian titles, after the Nerazzurri ended in 2nd position in Serie A behind city rivals Milan. Inter was the most entertaining team, scoring the most goals – 84 and shipping in 32, only one more than the best defenses in the Italian topflight. Inzaghi payout was €88,571 per point and €297,600 for every triumph.
Gerardo Seoane
€263,158 per victory; €78,125 per point
The Swiss manager led his Bayer Leverkusen to a 3rd-place finish in the Bundesliga in his maiden campaign. In Europe Bayer reached the ⅛ finals of Europa League, where they went 4:2 down on aggregate to Atalanta. In Germany, the team recorded 19 victories and a total of 64 points.
Marco Rose
€204,545 per victory; €65,217 per point
Rose spent just one season with Borussia Dortmund and led them to the 2nd spot in the final Bundesliga standings. BVB ended eight points behind champions Bayern Munich, but never really demonstrated title aspirations. With Rose at the helm, the Black & Yellow achieved 22 wins and 69 points in the league.
Christophe Galtier
€198,000 per victory; €60,000 per point
Nice ended up on the 5th spot in the French league. They secured a place in the Europa Conference League with a win over Reims in the final game of the 21/22 season. Les Aiglons collected 66 points throughout the term. Christophe Galtier was paid exactly 60,000 euros for each of those points and 198,000 for every of the 20 wins achieved in Ligue 1. The team conceded 36 goals, meaning they had the tied-best defense alongside PSG in the French top flight.
Jorge Sampaoli
€188,571 per victory; €55,775 per point
After their 26th consecutive term in the French top flight, Jorge Sampaoli led Marseile to a 2nd-place finish in Ligue 1. Les Phoceens accumulated a total of 71 points and the coach ended up pocketing 55,775 euros for each one of those. The side conceded only 38 goals, just three off being the best defense in the league. Marseille won 21 games and Sampaoli received 188,571 euros for every single one.
Stefano Pioli
€134,615 per victory; €40,698 per point
We cannot miss the only manager across Europe’s top 5 leagues who upset the odds and triumphed with the title, despite not being among the best 3 paid coaches in its domestic league. Milan won their 1st Serie A title in 11 years, after accumulating 86 points – 2 more than city rivals Inter. The Rossoneri were also joint 1st in the least conceded goals category, allowing 31 to nestle in their net throughout the season in Italy. Pioli started the term with a salary of 2 million euros, but was rewarded with a better financial package in late November which saw his pay raised to 3.4 millions. Pioli was paid 40,698 for each of Milan’s 86 points and 134,615 for each victory.