Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho: Which manager has made the most from sales? | OneFootball

It’s a tough gig being a football manager at the very highest level of the professional game.

The money may be fantastic, but there’s no denying that it’s an incredibly stressful job, one in which the threat of being sacked is constantly looming overhead.

There’s no magic formula to succeeding in the managerial game either. It requires unwavering commitment, intelligence and creative thinking towards the sport as a whole.

Of course, it helps when a manager is also able to acquire the correct players through the transfer market.

That’s why the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti have enjoyed so much success, as they’ve been afforded the luxury of being able to spend a serious amount of money at various clubs.

The trio have all splashed over £1 billion on players throughout the course of their careers, with Mourinho at the top of the pile in that regard on £1.54 billion.

But what about when it comes to the money managers have made from player sales?

Well, Guardiola, Mourinho and Ancelotti all feature in football history’s top 20 there as well, although neither of them take top spot.

Let’s take a look at where they rank…

The 20 managers who’ve made the most money from player sales in football history

20. Maurizio Sarri (66 players sold) – £463.14 million

19. Mircea Lucescu (76 players sold) – £475.35 million

18. Peter Bosz (36 players sold) – £481.97 million

17. Roberto Mancini (99 players sold) – £482.88 million

15. Thomas Tuchel (72 players sold) – £516.06 million

14. Antonio Conte (88 players sold) – £531.32 million

13. Ernesto Valverde (46 players sold) – £536.86 million

12. Unai Emery (78 players sold) – £543.69 million

11. Gian Piero Gasperini (129 players sold) – £570.79 million

10. Ronald Koeman (64 players sold) – £604.25 million

9. Arsene Wenger (113 players sold) – £613.76 million

8. Rafael Benitez (107 players sold) – £637.68 million

7. Pep Guardiola (75 players sold) – £640.75 million

6. Jorge Jesus (121 players sold) – £651.21 million

5. Max Allegri (115 players sold) – £678.88 million

4. Jose Mourinho (100 players sold) – £713.03 million

3. Carlo Ancelotti (114 players sold) – £744.60 million

2. Leonardo Jardim (63 players sold) – £866.82 million

It’s Simeone who takes top spot this time around.

The man who’s turned Atletico Madrid into a bona fide superclub averages over £10 million per player sale, with the largest of the lot being Antoine Griezmann’s £108 million move to Barcelona.

Simeone also oversaw Lucas Hernandez’s £72 million switch to Bayern Munich.

After this summer’s transfer window, the Argentine may become the first manager to reach £1 billion in player sales.