Highlights

  • Zinedine Zidane and Sir Alex Ferguson narrowly miss out on the list, despite considerable success during their managerial careers.
  • Jurgen Klopp makes the top 10 having spent a hefty £965m during his time in management.
  • Eight managers have spent more than £1 billion over the course of their career, including Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

With the riches of the footballing world ever-growing, the process of unearthing an academy prospect and developing them into a world-beater may slowly become a dying art. Instead of persisting with academy prospects, clubs often delve into the market and splash the cash on the finest exploits possible.

Financial backing is obvious imperative to how teams perform once the summer and winter windows open for business and without the mountains of cash behind them, it is possible that some of the sport’s greatest-ever tacticians may have not achieved nearly half of the success they are credited for today.

The likes of Zinedine Zidane and Sir Alex Ferguson narrowly miss out from being selected which just goes to show clever spending can still amount to huge levels of success, both domestically and on the European stage.

Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United.

So, which managers have been the biggest spenders during their managerial tenures? We used Transfermarkt, who have crunched the numbers thanks to their extensive database, to muster up a list. And there are some interesting inclusions and omissions – so, read on to find out if your club’s coach is known as one of football's heavy spenders!

The highest spending managers in football history

Rank

Name

Clubs

Titles

Purchased players

Transfer spend

1

Pep Guardiola

5

37

79

£1.709bn

2

Jose Mourinho

9

26

119

£1.58bn

3

Carlo Ancelotti

9

26

109

£1.47bn

4

Massimiliano Allegri

3

14

114

£1.21bn

5

Diego Simeone

7

10

84

£1.05bn

6

Thomas Tuchel

5

13

73

£1.02bn

7

Manuel Pellegrini

11

7

98

£1.02bn

8

Antonio Conte

7

8

93

£1bn

9

Mauricio Pochettino

5

3

57

£980m

10

Jurgen Klopp

4

12

85

£965m

11

Unai Emery

8

11

87

£888m

12

Arsene Wenger

4

21

104

£831.9m

13

Jorge Jesus

8

18

139

£805m

14

Claudio Ranieri

17

8

129

£782m

15

Rafael Benitez

11

13

115

£782m

All figures provided by Transfermarkt. Correct as of January 27th, 2024.

15 Rafael Benitez

£782m (13 titles won)

Rafael Benitez

Having spent time at the helm of 11 different clubs, Benitez has overseen a grand total of 115 new arrivals. The Spaniard built one of Liverpool’s greatest Premier League sides during his time in charge but was working on a shoestring budget for much of his six-year Merseyside stint.

Owing to that, a £26.5m move for Fernando Torres – who became the club’s record signing at the time – was his biggest spend at the club, but it was one that certainly paid off. Spells at Real Madrid and Napoli have seen him afforded a little more money to spend than his time at Anfield did.

Rafael Benitez's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Gonzalo Higuain

Napoli

£33m

Mateo Kovacic

Real Madrid

£32.4m

Danilo

Real Madrid

£27m

Fernando Torres

Liverpool

£26.5m

Robbie Keane

Liverpool

£20.5m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

14 Claudio Ranieri

£782m (Eight titles won)

Claudio Ranieri

Claudio Ranieri will forever live in Premier League folklore for that league-defining campaign where he took heavy outsiders Leicester City to the summit, fending off the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, who all secured Champions League qualification in 2015/16.

While he managed the unthinkable with a team made up of lesser-known talent, he has also had his fair share of big-money moves, too, having spent just shy of £800m during his time as a manager. His time at Monaco and Chelsea were especially fruitful in that sense, with the majority of his biggest deals coming at those two clubs.

Claudio Ranieri's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

James Rodriguez

Monaco

£38.4m

Radamel Falcao

Monaco

£36.7m

Islam Slimani

Leicester City

£26.5m

Hernan Crespo

Chelsea

£22.2m

Joao Moutinho

Monaco

£21.3m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

13 Jorge Jesus

£805m (18 titles won)

Jorge Jesus

With 138 players coming through the door during his tenure at eight clubs, the 69-year-old is expected to find himself on this list. He has become a managerial phenomenon in Portugal since starting out in 1990 at Amora, having gone on to manage the likes of Benfica and Sporting.

He was re-appointed Al-Hilal head coach during the summer of 2023 and with the riches of the Middle East looking to stamp their authority in the world of football – highlighted by their capture of Neymar – this overall spend could certainly rise. It's a testament to how much money he has to throw around in Saudi that the five most expensive signings of his managerial career have all come since he joined Al-Hilal last year.

Jorge Jesus' most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Neymar

Al Hilal

£76.9m

Malcom

Al Hilal

£51.2m

Ruben Neves

Al Hilal

£47m

Aleksandar Mitrovic

Al Hilal

£45m

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Al Hilal

£34.1m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

12 Arsene Wenger

£831.9m (21 titles won)

Arsene Wenger of FIFA looks on

The Frenchman is typically involved in discussions of who the best Premier League manager to ever live is, and he has his hefty outlay to thank. Impressively, Wenger has won 21 titles, most notably three Premier Leagues during his time at Arsenal, but struggled to replicate his early success during the final years of his tenure in England.

Times have changed and transfer fees have skyrocketed, since the Frenchman left the managerial game behind, so it would be interesting to see how the likes of Wenger would fare in the modern game and whether they could operate quite as successfully in the market when there's so much money being thrown around.

Arsene Wenger's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal

£54m

Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal

£45m

Mesut Ozil

Arsenal

£40m

Granit Xhaka

Arsenal

£38m

Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal

£36.5m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

11 Unai Emery

£888m (11 titles won)

Unai Emery

Securing European football for the current campaign thanks to their impressive league finish in 2022/23, Aston Villa boss Emery was given more financial freedom to bolster his squad over the summer. But he certainly hasn’t been short of cash during his time at previous clubs, especially at north London-based outfit Arsenal.

In his first two seasons at the helm, the Spaniard did not spend frugally, with over £200m being splashed on new signings which, unfortunately, resulted in little success. His time at Villa, though, has seen him endure great success in the transfer market, with his third-most expensive player, Moussa Diaby having a great start at the club.

Unai Emery's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Neymar

Paris Saint-Germain

£200m

Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal

£72m

Moussa Diaby

Aston Villa

£51.9m

Julian Draxler

Paris Saint-Germain

£30.7m

Pau Torres

Aston Villa

£28.2m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

10 Jurgen Klopp

£965m (12 titles won)

Jurgen Klopp Liverpool manager

Jurgen Klopp is arguably one of Liverpool’s greatest managers ever, having achieved a flurry of success since taking post in 2015, including a Premier League and a Champions League title. He has spent fairly big, however. Over the course of his four-club managerial career, he has sanctioned 85 new signings and spent £965m.

The German tactician has been tasked with rubbing shoulders with Manchester City in recent years and has done a respectable job, despite not having the same level of money to part with. With his departure set for the end of the 2023/24 season, the Reds will be hoping his successor will fare even half as well in the transfer market.

Jurgen Klopp's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Darwin Nunez

Liverpool

£85m

Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool

£75m

Alisson Becker

Liverpool

£66.8m

Dominik Szoboszlai

Liverpool

£60m

Naby Keita

Liverpool

£52.75m

All figures via Transfermarkt

9 Mauricio Pochettino

£980m (Three titles won)

Mauricio Pochettino

Having won a mere three titles across his managerial career, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino will look back and ponder where his money should have been invested instead, seeing as he has spent close to £1bn. His time at Tottenham Hotspur saw him famously receive little financial backing, so it might seem wild to see he's spent so much.

And then you remember his most recent outlay of £115m on Moises Caicedo, and it begins to make sense. With the west Londoner’s turning into a free-spending machine of late with Todd Boehly on board, it feels almost inevitable that his place on the list will rise in the very near future as Chelsea continues to throw absurd amounts of money around.

Mauricio Pochettino's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Moises Caicedo

Chelsea

£115m

Achraf Hakimi

PSG

£58m

Romeo Lavia

Chelsea

£53m

Tanguy Ndombele

Tottenham Hotspur

£52m

Christopher Nkunku

Chelsea

£51m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

8 Antonio Conte

£1bn (Nine titles won)

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte is currently enjoying some much-needed downtime away from football after his sour stint in north London with Tottenham Hotspur, but it cannot be downplayed how brilliant a football manager he is. But his mouth-watering spending begs the question: how much of his success actually boils down to his expertise?

He has spent time at seven different clubs since calling it a day on his playing career and has overseen deals for a total of 93 players since, with the total spend reaching £1bn. The spending has brought some success, but not the levels that he likely wanted, with nine titles to his name.

Antonio Conte's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Romelu Lukaku

Inter Milan

£63.2m

Alvaro Morata

Chelsea

£56.4m

Richarlison

Tottenham Hotspur

£50m

Cristian Romero

Tottenham Hotspur

£42.7m

Achraf Hakimi

Inter Milan

£36.7m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

7 Manuel Pellegrini

£1.02bn (Seven titles won)

Manuel Pellegrini

The former Manchester City man was in post when the club began to transform into a well-oiled trophy-winning machine. Following on from Sheikh Mansour’s money-inspired takeover, City were now able to match their rivals and spend big – yet wisely – in the market. Pair that spell with his time at Real Madrid and he was spending whatever money was necessary on some of the biggest names in the sport.

The Chilean became somewhat of a journeyman in the football manager sphere as has welcomed 96 new players during his 11-club stint as head coach, though it’s doubtful that any club were able to mirror what the English club were spending during his presence.

Manuel Pellegrini's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

£84.6m

Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City

£65m

Kaka

Real Madrid

£57.2m

Raheem Sterling

Manchester City

£54.4m

Sebastian Haller

West Ham United

£42.3m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

6 Thomas Tuchel

£1.02bn (13 titles won)

Thomas Tuchel

Now in charge of Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel also took the reins of Chelsea in 2021 and enjoyed a Champions League triumph just months after he entered the job. To prepare for the 2022-23 campaign, Tuchel had spent over £250m on new faces which set a new British record – and maybe even a precedent for those around them – for most spent in a singular transfer window.

That, of course, included £97.5m being spent on Romelu Lukaku. That's not the sort of transfer anyone wants on their record really as the Belgian was a disaster at Stamford Bridge. Still, though, he was the man who brought Kylian Mbappe to PSG, so at least he can always boast about that one.

Thomas Tuchel's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Kylian Mbappe

PSG

£153m

Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea

£96.5m

Harry Kane

Bayern Munich

£82m

Welsey Fofana

Chelsea

£68m

Marc Cucurella

Chelsea

£55m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

5 Diego Simeone

£1.05bn (10 titles won)

Diego Simeone

Currently managing at Atlético Madrid, Diego Simeone has little to show for his exuberant spending tendencies with just 10 titles accrued over an outlay of £1.05bn. Having the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona to fend off is, of course, a tall order, and he may have shot himself in the foot staying in the Spanish capital for so long, but he cannot blame financial constraints for his poor (in the grand scheme of things) trophy haul.

Considering the amount of money his team has made off selling some of their best players over the years, though, he more than earned the right to go a little wild in the transfer market every once in a while. It's just a shame the Joao Felix move was so poor in hindsight.

Diego Simeone's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Joao Felix

Atletico Madrid

£108m

Thomas Lemar

Atletico Madrid

£61m

Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid

£51m

Vitolo

Atletico Madrid

£30.4m

Jackson Martinez

Atletico Madrid

£30m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

4 Massimiliano Allegri

£1.21bn (14 titles won)

Massimiliano Allegri

Despite his two-year hiatus from management between 2019 and 2021, Massimiliano Allegri has been Juventus’ head coach since 2014, though he did spend time at other clubs prior to his illustrious stint at the Old Lady. With 14 titles under his belt, the Italian has welcomed 113 new faces to his respective sides since he turned his hand to management, spending a whopping £1.21bn.

It's clear where he spent the majority of his money, with his five most expensive signings all coming during his spells with Juventus, with wildly varying levels of success across the board. £100m for an ageing Ronaldo might not have been the wisest in hindsight.

Massimiliano Allegri's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus

£100m

Gonzalo Higuain

Juventus

£76m

Dusan Vlahovic

Juventus

£71m

Bremer

Juventus

£37.6m

Federico Chiesa

Juventus

£37.2m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

3 Carlo Ancelotti

£1.47bn (26 titles won)

Carlo Ancelotti

Commonly known as ‘Don Carlo’, his moniker certainly transcends into his transfer window activity seeing as Carlo Ancelotti is in the top three managers of all-time in terms of his overall expenditure. The seasoned 64-year-old has been at the helm of an array of clubs, ranging from Chelsea, AC Milan, Bayern Munich all the way down to Everton.

He is currently in charge of European behemoth Real Madrid and so has ample money at his disposal. The same can be loosely said about the entirety of his managerial career as he has spent nearly £1.5bn on 108 players. The majority of his high spending has come across two spells at the Bernabeu, though, with his purchase of Jude Bellingham last summer the most expensive in his career.

Carlo Ancelotti's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid

£88.5m

Gareth Bale

Real Madrid

£85.1m

Aurelien Tchouameni

Real Madrid

£68.3m

James Rodriguez

Real Madrid

£64m

Fernando Torres

Chelsea

£50m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

2 Jose Mourinho

£1.58bn (26 titles won)

jose-mourinho-man-united

The animated head honcho, Jose Mourinho, has been in charge at a host of top European clubs - most notably Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United – and has enjoyed levels of success at almost every club, amounting to 27 titles. Even at Porto, who are not in the same echelons as the aforementioned trio, the decorated manager turned them into a force to be reckoned with.

To help with that, he has spent an eye-watering figure of £1.58bn on 118 players across the nine clubs he has been in charge of. Like him or not, there’s no denying that he will end his career as one of the best managers to ever grace the game.

Jose Mourinho's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Paul Pogba

Manchester United

£89m

Romelu Lukaku

Manchester United

£72m

Fred

Manchester United

£50m

Nemanja Matic

Manchester United

£38m

Andriy Shevchenko

Chelsea

£31m

All statistics via Transfermarkt

1 Pep Guardiola

£1.709bn (37 titles won)

Pep Guardiola

Coming in at number one is Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, though his eye-catching spending extends to his respective stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, too. Across the five clubs in which he has managed at, the charismatic Spaniard has picked up 36 titles along the way and so you could say it has been money well spent.

Spending big should always result in trophies and in this particular case, it has. The same cannot be said for all transfer market heavy-hitters, mind. Then again, they didn't all sign players like Ruben Dias and Rodri, so there's that. Guardiola may have spent more than anyone in history, but he's got the trophy cabinet to justify that.

Pep Guardiola's most expensive signings

Player

Club

Fee

Jack Grealish

Manchester City

£100m

Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City

£77m

Ruben Dias

Manchester City

£61.2m

Rodri

Manchester City

£59.8m

Zlatan Ibrahimović

Barcelona

£59.4m

All statistics via Transfermarkt