Highest Paid International Football Managers

Now that UEFA Euro 2024 has come to a close, having been claimed by Spain, it’s time to take a look at the highest paid international football managers and compare their annual salaries. Managers land jobs based on their track record and are more likely to keep them based on their ability to qualify for big tournaments and progress as far as possible once they make it through. Take a look at our list and discover the top paid international football managers.

England’s Gareth Southgate used to feature on this list but after leaving England following their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain, a new name has made it into the top five.

Ronald Koeman - Netherlands - £2.5 Million

Koeman kicked off his career as a defensive midfielder for some of the best clubs in Europe throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the likes of Ajax, PSV and Barcelona, establishing himself as one of the best players in his position. He won several accolades, including La Liga, the Eredivisie and the UEFA Champions League. Koeman even played for the Netherlands and formed part of the squad that claimed the UEFA European Championship in 1988.

Once he hung up his boots, Koeman switched to managing, starting as an assistant manager for the Dutch team. Before long he managed some of the best European clubs, including Ajax, Valencia and Barcelona. He managed the Netherlands for the first time from 2018 to 2020 and again in 2023. He led the national team to the UEFA Euro 2024’s semi-finals against England, but the team lost 2-1.

Despite heavy criticism during the tournament, Euro 2024 was one of the best runs the team has had in a decade and Koeman remains the manager for the Dutch team, enjoying a salary of £2.5m a year as one of the highest paid football managers.

Didier Deschamps - France - £3.2 Million

France’s renowned manager has been at the helm of the national team since 2012, but his career originally started as a defensive midfielder. He played for French clubs like Nantes and Marseille, before moving to Juventus where he would go on to win the Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League. Deschamps would eventually move to Chelsea and finish his career at Valencia in 2001. He also formed part of the incredible French team that won the FIFA World Cup in 1998.

He immediately switched to management, working at Monaco before managing his former club Juventus and bringing them back to Serie A football following the Calciopoli scandal. After a brief stint with Marseille, Deschamps was given the huge task of managing the French national team. He built a strong team that performed well in both the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2016 UEFA Euros. But the team’s best performance came in 2018, winning the nation’s second FIFA World Cup.

In the 2024 UEFA Euros, Deschamps' France made it to the semi-finals only to be eliminated by Spain who went on to win the cup. Their performances were deemed as sub-standard as the team failed to reach the levels required but still reached an impressive semi-final, another decent performance with the team has solidified his position as manager which comes with a wage of £3.2m.

Roberto Martinez - Portugal - £3.4 Million

Most may remember Roberto Martinez as the manager who guided a brilliant Belgian team to third place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But after six years at the helm of the Belgian national team, Martinez has moved on to yet another European powerhouse, this time managing Portugal.

His career as a defensive midfielder saw him playing for several clubs across Spain and England. This included the likes of Zaragoza, Wigan Athletic and Swansea City. Eventually, he would kickstart his managerial career with Swansea City, before moving on to Wigan Athletic and Everton.

In the 2024 UEFA Euros, Martinez led his squad to the quarter-finals, facing off against a strong French team. The game ended in a stalemate and was ultimately decided by penalties, which saw France winning 5-3. Martinez looks to focus on a possession-based style of play which has worked well but failed to provide silverware. Belgium continue to be one of the Europe's best team but many still believe they're underperforming, no matter what side of the fence you're on, the fact remains that Martinez is one of the world’s highest paid international football managers, earning an annual wage of £3.4m.

Julian Nagelsmann - Germany - £4 Million

Nagelsmann’s playing career may have come to a quick end due to a series of injuries at the tender age of 20, but he’s managed to become one of the best young managers in the sport’s history. He managed his first team, TSG Hoffenheim when he was just 29, saving the club from relegation and leading them into UEFA Champions League qualification.

His next stint was at RB Leipzig, where he led the club to a UEFA Champions League semi-final and enjoyed a good run in the Bundesliga. He eventually took the big job at Bayern Munich, winning his first Bundesliga. The club would eventually fire him mid-season, but this would lead him to his role as manager of the German national team.

He became the youngest manager ever in the UEFA Euros, leading the team towards the tournament’s semi-finals. The team lost to Spain in the end but was easily one of the strongest in the competition. Many believe that if Germany hadn't conceded a late goal to Mikel Merino and Spain, they would have gone on to walk the rest of the competition. He'll have to wait at least two more years for success. As he remains in charge of the national team with an annual football manager salary of £4m.

Roberto Mancini - Saudi Arabia - £21 Million

The Italian manager had an excellent career as a player but rose to the challenge of managing some of the best teams in the sport. He kicked off his career with Fiorentina, moving on to Lazio and Inter Milan, building a winning team that claimed both the Serie A and Coppa Italia twice in a row.

His exploits landed him the job at Manchester City, where he managed to win both major domestic cups, the Premier League and FA Cup. His career would then take him to Galatasaray, before returning to Inter Milan and eventually moving on to Zenit Saint Petersburg. From Russia, Mancini would then move back to Italy to manage the national team.

Working closely with his assistant Gianluca Vialli, Mancini put together a strong squad that would go on to win the 2020 UEFA Euro in a final against England. But after a lacklustre performance in the FIFA 2022 World Cup, he eventually resigned from his post. In August of 2023, he signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian national team, scoring a wage of £21m a year. He led the team through the group stage of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, although the team would then get knocked out in the final 16 stage.

As it stands, Mancini has Saudi Arabia's best win percentage since 2015 and he isn't the first big name to manage the team with the likes of Herve Renard and Frank Rijkaard managing the team in the 10 years prior to the Italian. Whether or not the Saudi Arabian board believe Mancini has been worth his HUGE wage so far, remains to be seen.

Their Round of 16 defeat to South Korea in the Asian Cup will be forgiven if they progress through to the World Cup. However, they sit in Group C alongside Japan, Australia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia making this a difficult challenge.

Top Five Table