Football coaches are the thread that holds the team together. They ensure each member of the team work harmoniously with other members on the pitch to win the game.
The role of the coach is very important to any team, and when a team finds a good coach, they will do almost anything to keep him. Hence the best coaches become the highest earners in the game – and let’s face it; football is a money game – to keep good coaches or players, a team must be willing to offer irresistible baits.
Here we have detailed the top five highest paid coaches in the world in 2021 which invariably is also the list of the best coaches in the world.
Note: This is a list of the highest paid coaches in the world in 2021, not the highest earning coaches in 2021. Because, despite being sacked by Tottenham, Jose Mourinho is one of highest earning coaches in 2021. According to Jose Mourinho’s contract at Tottenham, he earned a whopping €16m per year. However, since his Tottenham contract did not have a break clause, Tottenham will have to pay him €9m per year for the next two seasons. Jose Mourinho’s salary at AS Roma is reportedly around €7m per year.
This means that Mourinho is set to earn possibly around €39m across the next three years.
Top 5 Highest Paid Football Coaches in the World 2021
Below is a list of the highest paid coaches in football 2021. This list contains coaches who are currently with clubs as of today. Some of these coaches earned more due to their sponsorship deals, however, we will only focus on their gross wages.
5. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) – €12 million
Zinedine Zidane did an excellent job with Real Madrid since he was appointed as head coach in 2016. The football legend became the first coach to win the Champions League three consecutive times, and won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup twice each, as well as a La Liga title and a Spanish Super Cup. He resigned from his coaching position in 2018, but returned to the club as manager in 2019, and won another La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles.
Zidane currently earns €12 million annually plus add-ons, making him the fifth highest paid coach in football today.
4. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) – €17.5 million
Klopp signed for Liverpool with the promise of restoring the club to its former glory and he duely delivered. The German coach is already a Champions League winner at Liverpool, and has built a formidable squad. He won the first league title for Liverpool in over three decades.
No wonder he is among the top highest earning football managers in the world
3. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) – €23 million
After a poor first year with Manchester City with the club winning no trophy, Pep has upped his game and helped the club win a trophy and became the first to reach the record-breaking 100 points in the league.
Pep Guardiola currently rakes in €22 million per year. He also earned much from his numerous sponsorship deals. He has turned Manchester City into one of the most formidable teams in the world. He has taken Manchester City to the finals of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
2. Antonio Conte (Inter Milan) – €30 million
Enigmatic Italian coach, Antonio Conte is second on the list of the highest paid football coaches in the world. The serial winner has had stints at Juventus, and Chelsea before joining Inter Milan. The 51-year-old joined the Nerazzurri in 2019, and was hoping to challenge Juventus for the Italian crown next season. In his first season with Inter, his team fell short by one point of first place Juventus in the Serie A title race. However, this 2020/21 season, Inter Milan won the Serie A title with Antonio Conte at the helm.
1. Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) – €43 million
When it comes to motivating the team and making relevant transfer deals; no one does it better than Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid. Diego is one of the best coaches in the world and has transformed Atletico Madrid into an almost unstoppable team beating both Real Madrid and Barcelona to the La Liga.
In 2019, the Argentine coach renewed his contract at his club. Diego currently earns €43 million annually coaching Atletico Madrid with a contract that will expire in 2022. This 2020/21 football season, Diego Simeone has taken Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. At the time of the this writing, they seem like the most likely team to win the 2021 La Liga trophy.
