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FEATURE
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Arteta lands huge Arsenal deal – but who is the world’s best-paid manager?
4 min read
Feature
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta signed a new contract with the Emirates side that sees him committed to the Premier League champions until 2030.
Arteta has been rewarded for his outstanding work in north London with a deal that provides him with a massive pay increase.
But how does the Arsenal manager’s contract compare to the best-paid managers in the world?
While salaries of all kinds within football clubs are closely guarded secrets, here are the best-paid coaches from across the world based on reports.
10. Enzo Maresca (Manchester City)
Annual salary: €11.8m (£10m)
Maresca has the unenviable task of replacing Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium – one that has been made all the more complicated due to the club being found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League.
Given City’s free spending in the transfer market, it comes as little surprise that their manager is also one of the best paid in the game, despite a comparative lack of top-level experience in a role such as this.
9. Luciano Spalletti (Juventus)
Annual salary: €13.2m
Spalletti has the most intensely scrutinised job in Italian football outside of the national team, with expectations surrounding the Turin club sky high.
His task in the short term is to guide the outfit back into the Champions League, where they can start to build a formidable squad once more.
With vast experience in Serie A, notably winning the title with Napoli, Spalletti understandably commands a big wage and now it’s on him to justify that by meeting the club’s targets.
=7. Oliver Glasner (Nottingham Forest)
Annual salary: €13.6m (£11.5m)
The spending power of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been underlined by the club’s capture of highly rated manager Oliver Glasner in the summer of 2026.
The Austrian was prised away from Crystal Palace after a very successful stint at Selhurst Park, and the hope is that with more resources at his disposal at the City Ground that he can help establish the club as a team consistently fighting for European football.
Glasner has been rewarded with a healthy contract in return.
=7. Xabi Alonso (Chelsea)
Annual salary: €13.6m (£11.5m)
Alonso has bounced back from his trials at Real Madrid to land the Chelsea job, and with it he has been provided with a lavish contract.
And who can blame Chelsea? The Spaniard’s record while in the Spanish capital was strong in terms of results, while his spell at Bayer Leverkusen was historic.
The former Liverpool midfielder has arrived with much to prove. If he fails at Chelsea, he may not get another crack at a big job for some time.
6. Ange Postecoglou (Al-Nassr)
Annual salary: €13.8m
Having carved out a reputation as one of the most exciting managers in the Premier League, the Aussie has been attracted to the Saudi Pro League, where he has been given the role of leading Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
While the job comes with the unofficial role of acting as PR for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, it also means that Postecoglou will enjoy an excellent salary, which he could not command in the Premier League after a failed spell with Nottingham Forest.
5. Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid)
Annual salary: €14.1m
Mourinho was surprisingly called back to Real Madrid in the summer after years out of the spotlight. Los Blancos needed a disciplinarian to get a handle on their side, and it was the Benfica coach they picked in order to do it.
Back in Madrid for a second spell, Mourinho is being richly rewarded for his work at the world’s biggest club.
4. Luis Enrique (PSG)
Annual salary: €20m
PSG head coach Luis Enrique signed a new contract in September, and unsurprisingly given that he has led the club to back-to-back Champions League titles, he has been handed a lucrative deal.
Previously paid €12m per year, the Spaniard has seen that figure nearly double to €20m, according to reports in France. He is under contract in Paris until 2030.
3. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
Annual salary: €23.6m (£20m)
Arteta’s new Arsenal contract puts him third among the world’s best-paid managers, but this figure does not include a potential bonus of £5m (€6m) per year that he could land, accoring to The Times. If he claims this, he will become the best-paid manager in the world.
His salary has nearly doubled with his new contract, which comes off the back of the Gunners winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final.
2. Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Annual salary: €23.7m
Long-time Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone commands one of the biggest contracts in the world in part thanks to his loyalty to the club, but also due to the success he has had at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Atleti persistently challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Spanish title, despite their means being significantly less.
One of the reasons that they have been able to do this is their shrewd investment in securing one of the most pragmatic managers around. It truly will be the end of an era when he leaves.
1. Simone Inzaghi (Al-Hilal)
Annual salary: €26.3m
It should come as little surprise that the Saudi Pro League, the best-paying league in the world, also has the most richly salaried manager in the game.
Simone Inzaghi can lay claim to this title, with Al-Hilal snapping up the 50-year-old Italian on a lucrative contract following his run to the 2025 Champions League final with Inter.
His sole major trophy since moving to Saudi is the 2025/26 King’s Cup.
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