France Football, the magazine that bestows the coveted Ballon d’Or every year, has conducted a study on the earnings of Ligue 1 and world players and also managers for the 2016/17 football season. The magazine’s detailed analysis considered sponsorship deals as well as contractual earnings.
The highest earning players for the season do not throw up any surprises as Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo leads the pack followed by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Neymar. However, in the managers category, the names and their earnings both make for interesting reading.
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So, here are the highest paid managers in world football for the 2016/17 season so far.
#5 Pep Guardiola, €14.5 million
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager took over the Manchester City project at the start of this season.
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Rated by many as one of the best coaches in the world, the Spaniard has earned €14.5 million so far this season and is placed 5th on the list. This may come as a surprise to many as Guardiola was expected to become the highest paid coach when he agreed to join the Citizens. However, he can still achieve that tag as the seasons progress.
#4 Carlo Ancelotti, €15.8 million
The charming Italian has managed top clubs in every top league in Europe and now finds himself in the Bayern Munich hot-seat this season following the departure of Guardiola to Manchester City. He has done a fine job so far with his team in control of the Bundesliga and through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Ancelotti has amassed €15.8 million this season as per French Football and is one of the highest earners in world football. A title win and Champions League success will definitely improve the financial standing of a manager who was successful at Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid prior to joining the Bavarian giants.
#3 Laurent Blanc, €20 million
Laurent Blanc is the only name on this list who is not currently coaching any football team. However, his presence on the list at number 3 is due to the compensation package dished out by Paris Saint-Germain when his tenure was cut short at the end of last season.
Former Sevilla manager Unai Emery took over the reins of the French giants and Blanc is currently searching for a club despite being linked with the Barcelona job. Blanc’s compensation package was in the region of €20 million and that assures him of a spot on the list.
#2 Marcello Lippi, €23.5 million
Marcello Lippi is a veteran Italian manager with successful stints at Juventus, Napoli, Inter and the Italian national team. He is currently serving as the manager of the Chinese national team and is earning a whopping €23.5 million.
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The huge salary is the result of the massive investment being done by China as they attempt to become a footballing force to reckon with in the future. Lippi is reaping the rewards as a result and is 2nd on the list ahead of the likes of Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, Barcelona’s Luis Enrique and Chelsea’s Antonio Conte.
#1 Jose Mourinho, €28 million
The highest-earning manager in world football currently is Jose Mourinho who took over as the Manchester United manager from Louis van Gaal last summer. He has earned a jaw-dropping €28 million so far this season, which is almost twice the amount of his rival, Guardiola.
Mourinho’s earnings are not just due to his contract with United but also due to his many sponsorship deals. In fact, no other manager boasts of as many sponsors as the Portuguese, who endorses Adidas, EA Sports, Heineken, Hublot, Jaguar, BT Sport, Atlantis hotels and Lipton Tea.
His immense success starting from his time at Porto through Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid and now Manchester United is the reason for him being at the top of the list.
With United on course for a Europa League win, he can expect to earn more come the end of the season.
