Top 10 highest spending managers in the history of football: The best managers like to play with the best players. However, the signings come at a large price. Let us look at the managers who have splurged the most.
A game of football usually features 11 men on both sides of the field unless a player has been sent off. The men in the middle of the park decide the outcome of the match. However, much of how they play is usually decided behind closed doors by one man; the manager.
Also read: Gonzalo Higuain kicks Juventus coach during training for the Champions league
It is the manager’s job to device a game plan with which his team adheres through the 90 minutes. Sometimes the manager does not have the men to carry out his plans and he brings in players to fit into his system.
Sometimes the manager just wants to strengthen his squad or desires a marquee player around whom he builds his team. Doing so however, requires money. Most of the leading managers have dipped their feet into the transfer market to assemble their dream team.
Today we will take a look at the top 10 highest spending managers in the history of football.
10) Unai Emery
The current Arsenal boss opens the list of the top 10 highest spending managers in the world. He guided Sevilla to 3 consecutive Europa League victories before being appointed PSG manager.
In his first season with the French giants he completed the domestic treble and went a step ahead with a domestic Quadruple next season. However, his failure to win the Champions League meant that PSG did not renew his contract.
He has spent 705 million Euros in his managerial career so far on 63 players alone. Shocking, considering that he made a name for himself at Sevilla with his shrewdness in the transfer market.
However, almost a third of his spending comes from the record fee of 222 million-euros PSG paid to bring Neymar from Barcelona.
9) Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez is the only manager in the world to have won the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
He also won the La Liga twice with Valencia before being appointed manager of Liverpool. Apart from that one magical night in Istanbul, Benitez has had quite a mediocre showing since leaving Spain.
Benitez has spent 753 million euros on 92 players. A majority of which came when he has in Liverpool. Shocking, considering, he once claimed that it was hard to compete with Chelsea and Manchester United’s financial might in the Premier league.
His most notable buys are Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid as Napoli manager and Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid during his time as Liverpool boss.
8) Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri may have managed the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan. However, he will most fondly be remembered for his time as Leicester City manager. He took over a club that had barely survived relegation and made them Premier League champions in 2016.
Ranieri has spent 801 million euros on 95 players through the various clubs he has managed. His most notable purchases are Frank Lampard from West Ham and Claude Makelele from West Ham and Real Madrid respectively during his time with Chelsea.
He also made the purchases of the Columbian duo of Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid and FC Porto while managing AS Monaco.
7) Roberto Mancini
The Current Italian manager is no.7 in the list of the top 10 highest spending managers in the history of football. Roberto Mancini has proven himself at every club that has given him the opportunity to manage. Be it the cash-stricken Fiorentina or Lazio.
He also led Inter Milan to 3 consecutive Serie A titles before taking Manchester City to their first ever Premier League title in 2011. The Italian has spent 802 million euros on 79 players with a majority of his spending coming from his time at Manchester City.
A lot of his signings at the Etihad stadium will go on to become club legends with his notable signings being Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Sliva.
6) Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger spent 22 years at Arsenal. He took charge of a sleeping giant and turned them into unbeatables. He won the Premier League 3 times with the Gunners and 17 trophies in total before stepping down in 2018.
The Frenchman has spent 964 million euros on 103 players. He is the only manager in this list to have signed more than 100 players. While known to be shrewd and sometimes a little too economical with his signings, he has let his purse strings loose when he feels that the purchase is worth it.
His most notable signings include Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Thierry Henry.
5) Massimiliano Allegri
Massimiliano Allegri made a name for himself after leading Cagliari to their best finish in the Serie A in 15 years and winning the best Serie A coach award in 2009.
He then helped AC Milan to a Serie A title before moving to Juventus in 2014 where he won 4 consecutive doubles between 2015 and 2018. He is the only coach to achieve this feat in Europe’s top 5 European Leagues.
Allegri has spent a billion Euros on 87 players, most of which have come from his time at Juventus. A little over one tenth of the amount comes from the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid and a further little under a tenth from Ronaldo’s former team mate, Gonzalo Higuain from rivals Napoli.
Apart from the two, his other notable signings include Paulo Dybala, Joao Cancelo, Douglas Costa and Leonardo Bonucci from Palermo, Valencia, Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
4) Manuel Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini, the current coach of West Ham has quite the resume to his name. He has won the national leagues in 4 different countries with the Premier League title with Manchester City being his most prestigious one. The Chilean is the only non-European manager to ever win the Premier League.
Having managed financial powerhouses such as Real Madrid and Manchester City in the past, it is no surprise that Pellegrini is so high up in this list. He has spent 1.1 billion euros on 82 players so far.
Pellegrini was the manager in charge when Real Madrid brought Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema to Real Madrid from Manchester United, AC Milan and Lyon.
He was also responsible for the signing of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Fernandinho to Manchester City from Wolfsburg, Liverpool and Shakhtar.
3) Pep Guardiola
From an ex Manchester City manager to a current. Pep Guardiola is no.3 in the top 10 highest spending managers in the history of football. Pep’s history of trophies with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City have led many to proclaim him as the greatest manager in the game.
He won 14 trophies at Barcelona which included a treble and a double, both in combination with the Champions League. He then won 7 further trophies at Bavaria, picking up the Bundesliga in all his 3 seasons. With Manchester he has also won 7 more including an unprecedented domestic treble last season.
His success hasn’t come cheap though as Guardiola has spent 1.2 billion euros on 52 players; the lowest signings in the list, just a shade over half of what Wenger purchased.
His most notable signings include Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva, David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Douglas Costa, Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano for his champion sides from the past and present.
2) Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is one of only 7 players to have won the European Cup/Champions League both as a player and a manager. He is also one of only three managers to have won the prestigious trophy 3 times in his career. No wonder he is regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
The current Napoli manager has quite the resume, having managed, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the past winning 20 trophies in total which also includes the top flight in England, Italy, Germany and France.
Ancelotti has spent 1.2 billion euros on 85 players with Real Madrid duo Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez being his two most expensive signings. He was also responsible for bringing Fernando Torres to Chelsea and Thiago Silva to PSG.
1) Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is arguably the most popular manger in the world. The Portuguese has made a name for himself by managing some of the biggest clubs in the world such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
However, his biggest successes have come with the relatively lesser known teams like Porto and Inter Milan with whom he has won the Champions League. In total he has won 25 major honours making him one of the most successful managers in the world.
Mourinho tops the list of the most spending manager in the world 1.6 billion euros on 97 players. While a notorious buyer, Mourinho doesn’t normally spend a lot.
His numbers have however, inflated with his time at Manchester United where he spent 345.4 million euros, a little over 20% of his total expenditure on 5 players alone.
His most notable buys include the likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Didier Drogba, Diego Costa, Luka Modric, Samuel Eto’o, Petr Cech and Ashley Cole.
Stats via Transfermarkt
Click here for more football news
