The 10 Most Expensive Manager Appointments of All Time: Spurs Break the Bank to Hire Frank | OneFootball

The concept of managerial transfer fees is a modern phenomenon. Now, any club keen to acquire a manager under a contract will have to pay a premium.

Football will always be a game won and lost by the players, but managers and their drift towards personality cults mean those on the touchline are blossoming into stars themselves.

Higher-ups are all too willing to buy into ‘projects’ and ‘processes’ only to ditch the idealist at the first sign of strife. Patience is ever dwindling in contemporary times, rendering the exorbitant fees paid out to clubs to appoint their next idealist or pragmatist all the more laughable.

Chelsea started the trend with André Villas-Boas in 2011, and clubs have continued to dish out mammoth sums in the hope of attaining a managerial utopia.

Here are the ten most expensive managerial appointments of all time.

10. Ruben Amorim to Sporting CP (£8.6 million, $11.6 million)

Amorim caught the eye of Sporting after an impressive tenure with Braga. / IMAGO/PA Images

Sporting CP took a bit of a punt on Ruben Amorim when they appointed the former Benfica player as their manager in 2020, making the Portuguese the third-most expensive manager ever at the time.

Sporting sent domestic rivals Braga £8.6 million ($11.6 million) for the young manager’s services after spending just a few months in the Primeira Liga.

However, Sporting’s gamble most certainly paid off as he led the Lisbon club through a mightily successful period during his four years at the helm. Amorim guided Sporting to three domestic trophies in his first full season and capped off his reign with a second league title in 2024.

A move to one of Europe’s supergiants became inevitable, and Sporting were able to recoup more than the £8.6m they spent on him just before the Covid-19 pandemic forced lockdowns across the globe.

9. Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City (£8.8 million, $11.9 million)

Rodgers won the FA Cup with the Foxes. / IMAGO/Colorsport

While Brendan Rodgers ultimately contributed to Leicester City’s relegation in 2023, it’s hard to describe his time at the King Power as anything but a success.

The Foxes had won the Premier League title three years before he arrived, but they’d meandered their way through top-flight life in the aftermath. Craig Shakespeare offered some stability after Claudio Ranieri’s magic wore off, but Claude Puel proved to be a disappointment.

Thus, they turned to Rodgers in 2019 after the Northern Irishman enjoyed a prolific spell up in Scotland with Celtic. Under the former Liverpool boss, Leicester competed fiercely in the top half and won the FA Cup in 2021—the second-best day in the football-supporting lives of many Foxes fans.

8. Ruben Amorim to Manchester United (£9.2 million, $12.4 million)

Amorim opted to join the poisoned chalice that is Manchester United. / IMAGO/PRiME Media Images

Here he is again.

Amorim was admired by Liverpool after Jürgen Klopp’s exit was confirmed in 2024, but the Portuguese opted to remain in Lisbon for the start of 2024–25. Manchester United then sounded out the Sporting CP coach after parting ways with Erik ten Hag, and they were forced to pay just shy of £10 million ($13.5 million) to get him out of the Portuguese capital.

Amorim was thrust into a difficult situation at United where many talented coaches have sunk, and his start to life at Old Trafford has been far from convincing. However, it’s clear that INEOS are behind the 40-year-old, who’ll have the summer to rebuild the Red Devils in his image.

7. Arne Slot to Liverpool (£9.4 million, $12.7 million)

Slot had an immediate impact at Liverpool. / IMAGO/Sportimage

Jürgen Klopp left the next man with the sturdiest of foundations, and Dutchman Arne Slot took full advantage of Klopp’s stellar work.

Slot may not have been Liverpool’s first choice, but they still spent as much as £9.4 million ($12.7 million) to buy him out of his Feyenoord contract. In Year 1, Slot delivered the Premier League title.

The Dutch coach ultimately won with Klopp’s squad, but he deserves tremendous credit from installing the subtle but necessary tweaks which evolved the Reds from nearly men into champions. He’s now aiming to lead a period of dominance on Merseyside.

6. Enzo Maresca to Chelsea (£10 million, $13.5 million)

Maresca jumped ship after guiding Leicester back into the Premier League. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

All it took was winning the Championship with the best squad in the division for Chelsea, who feature heavily on this list the rest of the way, to spend £10 million ($13.5 million) to bring Enzo Maresca to Stamford Bridge.

Undoubtedly enamoured by the Italian’s history with Pep Guardiola, Chelsea parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino, who oversaw a strong end to 2023–24, to appoint Maresca.

He met expectations in his debut season, but the jury’s still out on the former Leicester boss, whose ideals struggle to inspire. However, there are solid foundations in place for the Italian to build upon. More will be expected from his Chelsea team in 2025–26.

5. Thomas Frank to Tottenham Hotspur (£10 million, $13.5 million)

Frank is tasked with succeeding Ange Postecoglou at Spurs. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Tottenham Hotspur made the incredibly bold call of sacking Ange Postecoglou off the back of their Europa League success in Bilbao. Ultimately, the club couldn’t overlook their 17th-place finish in the Premier League.

The decision split a briefly united fanbase, but supporters are bound to come around to the idea of Thomas Frank becoming Postecoglou’s successor. Tactically, Frank is everything Postecoglou isn’t, but the Dane boasts similar astute man-management skills which will help fill the emotional void left by the Australian coach.

Frank punched above his weight at Brentford and maximised every ounce of talent at his disposal. Some, however, may question whether his approach can scale up to a more demanding environment. Spurs are clearly convinced, paying £10 million ($13.5 million) to get him out of his current contract.

4. Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich (£10.2 million, $13.8 million)

Bayern Munich took a punt on Kompany. / IMAGO/DeFodi Images

Vincent Kompany became the latest idealist who failed to adjust to the quality of his playing squad following promotion to the Premier League in 2023–24. His Burnley team rocked the second tier but barely laid a glove on the top flight upon their return, and they went straight back down with a whimper.

Nevertheless, Bayern Munich were in need of a coach after exhausting several options in the aftermath of Thomas Tuchel’s departure. They, rather surprisingly, pivoted to Kompany.

Bayern looked beyond the results and were smittened by the Belgian’s processes. They appreciated Kompany’s principles and recognised potential scalability. The jury’s still out as to whether Kompany can ascend into the elite realm of coaches, but he did his job pretty well in Year 1—ensuring Bayern regained their Bundesliga crown.

3. André Villas-Boas to Chelsea (£13.3 million, $18 million)

Villas-Boas was regarded as the second coming of José Mourinho. / IMAGO/Paul Marriott

Chelsea were so convinced by André Villas-Boas in 2011 that they paid an unprecedented sum to appoint him as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor.

There, of course, was the José Mourinho factor. Villas-Boas, who previously worked as the Special One’s assistant, boasted similar charm and enjoyed the sort of success Mourinho did at Porto before he took the Chelsea job. They were willing to pay anything to enjoy the Mourinho experience again.

However, AVB’s appointment proved to be nothing short of a disaster. He alienated senior players and deployed a system which simply didn’t appease the needs of the squad at his disposal. As a result, he lasted less than a season as Chelsea eventually finished sixth in the Premier League table.

With the same group of players, Roberto Di Matteo guided the Blues to an unthinkable Champions League triumph.

2. Graham Potter to Chelsea (£21.5 million, $29 million)

Potter’s time at Stamford Bridge was miserable. / IMAGO/GEPA pictures

2022 was perhaps the most turbulent year in Chelsea’s modern history—largely as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Roman Abramovich was forced to sell up and in came the player traders of BlueCo. Immediately butting heads with Thomas Tuchel, they craved the face of a project described in the introduction. So desperate where the Blues that they sent Brighton & Hove Albion as much as £21.5 million to appoint Graham Potter.

Potter’s work on the south coast sent every hipster into overdrive, with his complex tactical principles ensuring that the underlying metrics always pointed towards “long-term sustainability”. Brighton didn’t deliver all that much under his stewardship, but he set the tone for their eventual maiden venture into Europe.

He couldn’t, however, cope with the brighter lights of west London. Chelsea were a club synonymous with egoists assured of their own competence, but Potter cut nothing short of a meek defeatist throughout his tenure. He was never the right fit, and the Englishman lasted just 31 games in charge.

That’s approximately £700,000 ($950,000) per game.

1. Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich (£21.7 million, $29.3 million)

Bayern Munich paid a record fee to acquire Nagelsmann. / IMAGO/FC Bayern München

In order to acquire one of the most venerated coaching minds of his generation, Bayern Munich were willing to offer RB Leipzig a monstrous compensation package so Julian Nagelsmann could leave the club.

Another hipster favourite, Nagelsmann garnered great acclaim for his work at Hoffenheim before joining Leipzig, who he led to the Champions League semi-finals in 2020. His vertical, dynamic style remains ever so easy on the eye, and he’s currently the leader of the German national team.

However, his spell with Bayern, who paid the world to acquire him, was perhaps the most underwhelming stint of his managerial career. They won a league title under his watch, but ultimately failed in the Champions League.

Still, there’s a sense of ‘what could’ve been...’ with Nagelsmann and Bayern given that he was in the job for less than two years.

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