Guardiola, Mourinho, Ancelotti: Which manager has spent the most money in football? | OneFootball

Some managers have the privilege of spending big bucks.

With super-rich owners now dominating the game across Europe, managers who happen to find themselves in charge of a Paris Saint-Germain or a Manchester City will also be armed with a war chest fit for a king.

But which managers have spent the most in football history? And who did they spend their money on?

The four biggest spending managers in football history

Massimiliano Allegri

After spending four seasons with AC Milan and now over six seasons and counting with Juventus, Allegri has racked up quite the transfer bill.

His total expenditure comes in at €1.246 billion with all of his top 12 most expensive deals coming throughout his time with the Old Lady.

Allegri’s most expensive deals:

12. Blaise Matuidi – €25m 11. Alex Sandro – €28m 10. Marko Pjaca – €29.4m 9. Miralem Pjanic – €32m8. Leonardo Bonucci – €35m =6. Douglas Costa – €40m=6. Federico Chiesa – €40m5. Joao Cancelo – €40.4m 4. Paolo Dybala – €41m 3. Dusan Vlahovic – €81.6m 2. Gonzalo Higuain – €90m1. Cristiano Ronaldo – €117m

Carlo Ancelotti

‘Don Carlo’ has taken the reins at AC Milan, PSG, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Chelsea and Real Madrid across his historic career, so it’s hardly surprising to see him right up there with the top spenders.

The Italian was responsible for acquiring Gareth Bale at Real Madrid and Fernando Torres at Chelsea, but whilst Bale tops his list of biggest acquisitions, Torres is trumped by a signing made just last month.

Ancelotti’s total expenditure – €1.520 billion.

Ancelotti’s 12 most expensive deals:

12. Asier Illarramendi – €31m11. Mats Hummels – €32m 10. Renato Sanches – €35m 9. Kostas Manolas – €36m8. Lucas Moura – €40m 7. Corentin Tolisso – €41.5m 6. Thiago Silva – €42m 5. Hirving Lozano – €45m 4. Fernando Torres – €58.5m 3. James Rodriguez – €75m 2. Aurélien Tchouaméni – €80m 1. Gareth Bale – €101m

Pep Guardiola

Guardiola hasn’t been shy of spending since his arrival at Man City having racked up over one billion euros worth of transfer fees.

And despite taking charge at Barcelona and Bayern Munich for sustained periods of time previously in his illustrious career, 11 of his 12 biggest transfers came using Sheikh Mansour’s cheque book.

The Spaniard’s total spend across his career stands at €1.660 billion which means that he comfortably beats Ancelotti despite the Italian being in management for 13 years longer.

Guardiola’s 12 most expensive deals:

12. Leroy Sane – €52m 11. Kyle Walker – €52.7m10. John Stones – €55.6m 9. Benjamin Mendy – €57.5m 8. Erling Haaland – €60m 7. Rodri – €62.7m =5. Joao Cancelo – €65m =5. Aymeric Laporte – €65m4. Riyad Mahrez – €67.8m3. Ruben Dias – €68m 2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – €69.5m 1. Jack Grealish – €117.5m

Jose Mourinho

And for number one… who else but ‘The Special One’.

The iconic Portuguese boss has led several big clubs in the past two decades such as Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Man United, and dare we even say Tottenham now.

But his 12 biggest transfers are dominated by his spending at two…

Any guesses for who they are? Little hint, it’s actually not Real Madrid with only one Los Blancos signing making the grade.

Mourinho total expenditure comes in at €1.727 billion.

Mourinho’s 12 most expensive deals:

12. Luka Modric – €35m 11. Willian Borges – €35.5m =8. Eric Bailly – €38m=8. Diego Costa – €38m =8. Michael Essien – €38m7. Didier Drogba – €38.5m6. Henrikh Mkhitaryan – €42m5. Andriy Shevchenko – €43.9m4. Nemanja Matic – €44.7 3. Fred – €59m2. Romelu Lukaku – €84.7m1. Paul Pogba – €105m