#2 Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona) - £20.2m
The Barcelona manager might be under tremendous pressure at the Camp Nou after a string of bad results this season, but there’s no denying that Ernesto Valverde’s domestic record has been impeccable. The Spanish manager won the LaLiga in both of his first two seasons since joining in the summer of 2017, while also winning the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup once.
The only downside of his reign has been Barcelona’s inability to win the UEFA Champions League. There’s no doubt that it is the trophy that the Spaniard (as well as the Catalans) crave the most at the moment, and they narrowly missed out last season after exiting in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual champions Liverpool.
Despite the fact that the reigning champions of Spain have stuttered in the LaLiga this season, Valverde’s wards are still top of the league after 11 games, thanks to a superior goal difference.
For all his efforts, the Spanish manager is handsomely reimbursed by the club. Valverde was previously earning a mammoth €24m or £20.2m a year, and he also signed a contract extension in March of this year. Regardless of whether the new deal had resulted in a salary hike, Valverde is at least the second-best paid manager in LaLiga.