Football
As the global soccer landscape becomes more and more stratified in terms of wealth, the rich continue to get richer.
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That is the case at the top of the managerial game, where the best club coaches are becoming more coveted each and every passing year.
Thus, salaries at the top of the game continue to increase, as clubs hope to either keep hold of their star managers or woo those from other big clubs to their stadium.
The Sporting News brings you a look at the top managerial salaries in the game following Mikel Arteta’s new contract at Arsenal which reportedly comes with a significant pay increase.
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Who is the highest-paid manager in the world?
Amongst all club soccer managers, Simone Inzaghi of Al Hilal is now the highest-paid manager in the world at €26 million per year (£22.3m / $29.8m). He was given a massive contract by the Saudi club, wooing him from Inter Milan where he was already being paid handsomely.
Pep Guardiola was second during his final contract at Man City, but departed the club at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Instead, Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid is now the second highest-paid head coach in the world. He was first on the list for years, but took a pay cut in 2023 to help the club with their finances. Having been at the club for 13 years, he is venerated by Atletico Madrid fans, winning eight trophies, including two La Liga titles, and reaching two UEFA Champions League finals.
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Third is PSG head coach Luis Enrique, who just recently signed a new deal earlier this month that came with a massive salary increase.
The following table was compiled using a conglomeration of various reports from around Europe and the world, including a list from GiveMeSport.
| Rank | Manager | Club | Salary (gross) | Contract until |
| 1. | Simone Inzaghi | Al Hilal | £22.3m / $29.8m | July 2027 |
| 2. | Diego Simeone | Atletico Madrid | £20.1m / $26.8m | July 2027 |
| 3. | Luis Enrique | PSG | £17.2m / $22.9m | July 2030 |
| 4. | Mikel Arteta | Arsenal | £15m / $20m* | July 2030* |
| 5. | Oliver Glasner | Nottingham Forest | £13m / $17.4m | July 2029 |
| 6. | Jose Mourinho | Real Madrid | £12m / $16m | July 2029 |
| 7. | Ange Postecoglou | Al Nassr | £11.7m / $15.6m | July 2028 |
| 8. | Xabi Alonso | Chelsea | £11.5m / $15.4m | July 2030 |
| 9. | Luciano Spalletti | Juventus | £11.2m / $14.9m | July 2028 |
| 10. | Enzo Maresca | Man City | £10m / $13.3m | July 2029 |
* Reports indicate his actual compensation is higher than this figure from his previous contract, but details are not yet known, including the length of the contract.
Mikel Arteta signs new Arsenal contract
On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, it was announced that Mikel Arteta had completed the signing of his new contract at Arsenal.
No terms of the agreement were revealed in the initial reports, but we can take some clues. According to Sami Mokbel of the BBC, Arteta’s new contract will «take him into at least his 10th year at the club following his arrival in December 2019.» This insinuates that Arteta’s new contract will run at least through the end of the 2029/30 season.
We do not yet know the compensation of Mikel Arteta’s new Arsenal contract, but we can comfortably assume he is amongst the highest paid managers in the world, and might be as high as third or fourth. Mokbel’s report claims he was given «a sharp pay increase from his current salary of £10 million per year plus an additional £5 million in bonuses.»
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