The most expensive football managers of all time: New Liverpool and Chelsea bosses enter top 10

Julian Nagelsmann, Jose Mourinho, Vincent Kompany and Arne Slot

Clubs have spent significant fees on managers like Julian Nagelsmann and Jose Mourinho

Football clubs have always spent a lot of money on the best players in the world but they are now starting to splash the cash on top managers.

World-class managers can transform a team’s fortunes and lead them to glory, although they don’t always have the desired impact.

We’ve taken a look at the most expensive fees paid for managers and Premier League clubs account for seven of the 11 deals on this list.

Note: the figures include any potential add-ons or any extra fees that cover the manager’s backroom staff.

10= Jose Mourinho – £5.2m

Having led Porto to Champions League glory in the 2003/04 season, Mourinho established himself as one of the best managers in the world.

Chelsea – who were bankrolled by Roman Abramovich – paid Porto a reported £5.2million in compensation to secure his signature in 2004.

The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ made an immediate impact at Stamford Bridge, winning a League Cup and back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two seasons.

He also won another League Cup and the FA Cup in the 2006/07 campaign but was sacked a few months later after a fall-out with Abramovich.

10= Unai Emery – £5.2m

After being sacked by Arsenal, Emery rebuilt his reputation at Villarreal and guided them to a Europa League final victory over Manchester United in 2021.

He returned to the Premier League in November 2022 after Aston Villa triggered the £5.2million release clause in his contract.

The 52-year-old has transformed Villa’s fortunes and they secured Champions League football by finishing fourth in the 2023/24 season.

“Obviously no disrespect to [Steven] Gerrard – I think he was obviously a good manager – and he did well at Rangers,” Villa’s Matty Cash told talkSPORT. “I just think Unai is another level really. Since he’s come in we’ve been nothing but brilliant.”

9. Jose Mourinho – £6.8m

His second appearance on this list, Mourinho joined Inter Milan after being sacked by Chelsea and won the treble in the 2009/10 campaign.

Real Madrid then outlined their intention to hire the Portuguese coach, but they refused to trigger the £13.6million release clause in his Inter contract.

A £6.8million agreement was finally reached after a meeting between Real president Florentino Perez and his Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti.

The 61-year-old won a Copa del Rey title in his debut season at Madrid before lifting La Liga in 2011/12, but he was sacked after a trophyless third season.

8. Ruben Amorim – £8.4m

Despite only having three months of senior managerial experience behind him, Amorim did enough at Braga to convince Sporting CP to spend £8.4million on his services in March 2020.

The expensive gamble proved to be money well spent as the manager ended Sporting’s 19-year wait for a league title in 2020/21.

He also won back-t0-back Taca da Liga titles in 2020/21 and 2021/22 before securing another Primeira Liga in the 2023/24 campaign.

The 39-year-old has been linked with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham in recent months, although he now looks set to stay in Lisbon.

Ruben Amorim, Sporting, April 2023

Manager Ruben Amorim overseeing Sporting match from sidelines

7. Brendan Rodgers – £8.8m

Rodgers enjoyed a trophy-laden first spell at Celtic, winning back-to-back domestic trebles in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 campaigns.

While Celtic were very keen to retain the Northern Irishman, they ultimately accepted an £8.8million bid from Leicester City in February 2019.

He helped Leicester secure back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns and also added an FA Cup and the Community Shield to their trophy cabinet.

But things went downhill in his fourth season and the manager was sacked in April 2023, shortly before the Foxes were relegated to the Championship.

6. Arne Slot – £9.4m

After Xabi Alonso decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Slot emerged as the leading contender for the Liverpool job in the summer of 2024.

The 45-year-old spent three highly successful seasons at Feyenoord, during which he led them to an Eredivisie title and the KNVB Cup.

Liverpool spoke with Feyenoord and reached an agreement over an initial compensation fee of £7.7million but that could reach £9.4million with potential add-ons.

5. Enzo Maresca – £10m

Maresca worked under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before leading Leicester City to the Championship title in the 2023/24 campaign.

Chelsea identified the 44-year-old as the ideal manager to replace Mauricio Pochettinho and they agreed to pay a £10million compensation fee to the Foxes.

“We are delighted to welcome Enzo to Chelsea,” said a statement from Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors.

“He has proven himself to be an excellent coach capable of delivering impressive results with an exciting and identifiable style.”

4. Vincent Kompany – £10.2m

Bayern Munich missed out on some of their top manager targets in 2024, including Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick.

They then switched their attention to Kompany, who led Burnley to the Championship title in 2022/23 but was unable to keep them in the Premier League in the following campaign.

While Burnley initially put a £17million price tag on the 38-year-old, they ultimately accepted Bayern’s offer of £10.2million.

3. Andre Villas-Boas – £13.3m

Villas-Boas was dubbed as the ‘next Jose Mourinho’ after guiding Porto to the domestic double and the Europa League title in the 2010/11 season.

The Portuguese coach followed in his compatriot’s footsteps by swapping Porto for Chelsea, who triggered the £13.3million release clause in his contract.

However, he was unable to replicate Mourinho’s success at Stamford Bridge and was sacked just nine months into his tenure.

Chelsea then hired Roberto Di Matteo, who went on to secure a historic FA Cup and Champions League double at the end of the 2011/12 season.

2. Graham Potter – £21.5m

Potter earned widespread plaudits for his work with Brighton & Hove Albion, and he implemented an attractive style of football at the Amex Stadium.

The 49-year-old also impressed Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and they hired him as Thomas Tuchel’s successor in September 2022.

While original reports suggested that Chelsea had triggered a £15million release clause in his Brighton contract, it’s since been revealed that the exact figure was £21.5million.

But he endured a difficult time in west London and failed to justify that price tag, winning just 12 of his 31 games in charge of the Blues.

Graham Potter during a training session at Cobham Training Centre, Surrey

1. Julian Nagelsmann – £21.7m

During his spells with Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, Nagelsmann forged a reputation as one of the world’s brightest young coaches.

Bayern Munich forked out £21.7million to land the then-33-year-old in the summer of 2021, making him the most expensive manager of all time.

Despite winning a Bundesliga title and two DFL-Super Cups in Munich, he was sacked in March 2023 after a poor run of results.

Bayern tried to rehire Nagelsmann at the end of the 2023/24 season, but he rejected their offer and signed a new contract with the German national team.

READ MORE: Every Premier League manager’s contract expiry date as Chelsea give Enzo Maresca lengthy deal

Jose Mourinho Vincent Kompany Julian Nagelsmann Arne Slot

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