Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has become the world’s highest-paid football boss following the dismissal of Roberto Mancini from his role with the Saudi Arabia national team.
Mancini was reportedly raking in approximately £21.5million annually but saw his contract terminated after a 14-month tenure that included seven victories out of 18 matches and an early exit from the Asia Cup.
His departure was also marked by complaints about the influx of foreign signings in the Saudi Pro League, which he felt was limiting his first-team players’ game time. This development now places Guardiola at the top of the earnings list with an estimated £20m.
However, Guardiola’s future at City remains uncertain as his contract is due to expire next summer. The Spaniard has yet to make a decision on whether he will stay, but for the time being, he is the highest-earning manager by a significant margin.
In second place is Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, who recently signed a contract extension that reportedly boosted his salary from £9m to £15m.
Completing the top three is Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, who was once considered one of the world’s highest-paid managers but reduced his salary last year from £16m to £13m annually.
Simeone narrowly beats his managerial adversary Carlo Ancelotti, who is believed to be earning £9.6m per annum from Real Madrid following a contract extension last season.
In fifth place, we find Jose Mourinho making waves in Turkey with reports of pocketing a neat £8.7m annually at Fenerbahce, proving that the ‘Special One’ still holds sway in the football world even when not at one of its leading clubs.
Elsewhere, ex-Benfica manager Jorge Jesus is raking in £8.4m every year with Saudi Arabian champions Al Hilal, a side graced by the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves, and Joao Cancelo.
