The 20 biggest spending football managers of all time, including former Man Utd and Liverpool bosses

Mourinho, Guardiola and Ancelotti have all spent a lot of money on players
While football managers do a lot of work on the training ground, it is increasingly difficult to win major honours without spending a lot of money.
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are two of the most successful managers in the modern era and they both have huge spending power in the transfer market.
Here, we’ve compiled the 20 biggest spending football managers in history by looking at their combined transfer outlays at all the clubs they’ve managed.
Note: The transfer fees are in Euros instead of Pounds and also don’t include any potential add-ons.
20. Gian Piero Gasperini
Money spent: €908.12m (£782.2m/$1.06bn)
Clubs managed: 6 (Crotone, Genoa, Inter, Palermo, Atalanta, Roma)
Club trophies won: 1 (Europa League)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. El Bilal Toure to Atalanta – €30.2m
2. Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta – €28m
3. Charles De Ketelaere to Atalanta – €23.2m
4. Ederson to Atalanta – €22.9m
5= Jeremie Boga to Atalanta – €22m
5= Raoul Bellanova to Atalanta – €22m
19. David Moyes
Money spent: €908.14m (£782.7m/$1.06bn)
Clubs managed: 6 (Preston, Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland, West Ham)
Club trophies won: 3 (League One, Community Shield, Europa Conference League)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Juan Mata to Man Utd – €44.73m
2. Mohammed Kudus to West Ham – €43m
3. Lucas Paqueta to West Ham – €42.95m
4. Gianluca Scamacca to West Ham – €38.6m
5. Edson Alvarez to West Ham – €38m
Mata was greeted by #mufc boss David Moyes after he touched down by helicopter. #mufcmata pic.twitter.com/VLVCee9rIp
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 25, 2014
18. Nuno Espirito Santo
Money spent: €910.46m (£784.7m/$1.06bn)
Clubs managed: 7 (Rio Ave, Valencia, Porto, Wolves, Tottenham, Al-Ittihad, Nottingham Forest)
Club trophies won: 3 (EFL Championship, Saudi Pro League, Saudi Super Cup)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Fabinho to Al-Ittihad – €46.7m
2. Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest – €41.2m
3. Fabio Silva to Wolves – €40m
4. Raul Jiménez to Wolves – €38m
5. Nelson Semedo to Wolves – €32m
17. Claudio Ranieri
Money spent: €933.32m (£804.5m/$1.09bn)
Clubs managed: 18 (Vigor Lamezia, Puteolana, Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus, Roma, Inter, Monaco, Leicester City, Nantes, Fulham, Sampdoria, Watford)
Club trophies won: 10 (Serie C1, Coppa Italia Serie C, Serie B, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, Copa del Rey, UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Ligue 2, Premier League)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. James Rodriquez to Monaco – €45m
2. Radamel Falcao to Monaco – €43m
3. Islam Slimani to Leicester City – €31m
4. Hernan Crespo to Chelsea – €26m
5. Joao Moutinho to Monaco – €25m
16. Erik ten Hag
Money spent: €937.93m (£808.3m/$1.09bn)
Clubs managed: 5 (Go Ahead Eagles, Utrecht, Ajax, Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen)
Club trophies won: 8 (Eredivisie x3, KNVB Cup x2, Johan Cruyff Shield, EFL Cup, FA Cup)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Antony to Man Utd – €95m
2. Rasmus Hojlund to Man Utd – €77.8m
3. Casemiro to Man Utd – €70.65m
4. Mason Mount to Man Utd – €67.7m
5. Leny Yoro to Man Utd – €62m
15. Rafael Benitez
Money spent: €944.24m (£813.7m/$1.1bn)
Clubs managed: 14 (Real Valladolid, Osasuna, Extremadura, Tenerife, Valencia, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Napoli, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Dalian Professional, Everton, Celta Vigo)
Club trophies won: 13 (La Liga x2, Europa League x2, FA Cup, Community Shield, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana x2, FIFA Club World Cup, EFL Championship)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Gonzalo Higuaín to Napoli – €39m
2= Fernando Torres to Liverpool – €38m
2= Mateo Kovacic to Real Madrid – €38m
4. Danilo to Real Madrid – €31.5m
5. Robbie Keane to Liverpool – €24m
14. Arsene Wenger
Money spent: €972.39m (£837.9m/$1.1bn)
Clubs managed: 4 (Nancy, Monaco, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Arsenal)
Club trophies won: 21 (French Division 1, Coupe de France, Emperor’s Cup, Japanese Super Cup, Premier League x3, FA Cup x7, Community Shield x7)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal – €63.75m
2. Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal – €53m
3. Mesut Ozil to Arsenal – €47m
4. Granit Xhaka to Arsenal – €45m
5. Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal – €42.5m
On this day in 2018: Arséne Wenger lead Arsenal to an emphatic 5-0 win over Burnley in his final home game as Arsenal manager, thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang x2, Alexandre Lacazette, Sead Kolasinac & Alex Iwobi. ❤️ #MerciArsène pic.twitter.com/swPKPtDCRP
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 6, 2024
13. Jorge Jesus
Money spent: €1.04billion (£896.1m/$1.2bn)
Clubs managed: 15 (Amora, Felgueiras, União Madeira, Estrela da Amadora, Vitória Setúbal, Vitória Guimarães, Moreirense, União Leiria, Belenenses, Braga, Benfica, Sporting, Flamengo, Fenerbahce, Al-Hilal, Al Nassr)
Club trophies won: 24 (UEFA Intertoto Cup, Primeira Liga x3, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga x6, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira x2, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Copa Libertadores, Supercopa do Brasil, Recopa Sudamericana, Campeonato Carioca, Turkish Cup, Saudi Super Cup x3, Saudi Pro League, King Cup)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Neymar to Al-Hilal – €90m
2. Malcom to Al-Hilal – €60m
3. Ruben Neves to Al-Hilal – €55m
4. Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al-Hilal – €52.6m
5= Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Al-Hilal – €40m
5= Marcos Leonardo to Al-Hilal – €40m
12. Luis Enrique
Money spent: €1.11bn (£956.4m/$1.2bn)
Clubs managed: 4 (Roma, Celta Vigo, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain)
Club trophies won: 16 (La Liga x2, Copa del Rey x3, Supercopa de Espana, Champions League x2, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Ligue 1 x2, Coupe de France x2, Trophee des Champions x2)
Five Biggest Purchases:
1. Randal Kolo Muani to PSG – €95m
2. Luis Suarez to Barcelona – €81.72m
3. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG – €70m
4. Goncalo Ramos to PSG – €65m
5. Manuel Ugarte to PSG – €60m
11= Jurgen Klopp
Money spent: €1.15bn (£990.8m/$1.3bn)
Clubs managed: 3 (Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool)
Club trophies won: 13 (Bundesliga x2, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup x2, Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup x2, Community Shield, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA World Club Cup)
Five Biggest Purchases:
1. Darwin Nunez to Liverpool – €85m
2. Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool – €84.65m
3. Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool – €70m
4. Alisson to Liverpool – €62.5m
5. Naby Keita to Liverpool – €60m

11= Mauricio Pochettino
Money spent: €1.15bn (£990.8m/$1.3bn)
Clubs managed: 5 (Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea)
Club trophies won: 3 (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Trophée des Champions)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Moises Caicedo to Chelsea – €116m
2. Achraf Hakimi to PSG – €68m
3. Romeo Lavia to Chelsea – €62.1m
4. Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham – €62m
5. Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea – €60m
9. Thomas Tuchel
Money spent: €1.22bn (£1.05bn/$1.4bn)
Clubs managed: 6 (Augsburg, Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich)
Club trophies won: 11 (DFB-Pokal, Ligue 1 x2, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophee des Champions x2, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA World Club Cup, Bundesliga)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Kylian Mbappe to PSG – €180m
2. Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea – €113m
3. Harry Kane to Bayern Munich – €100m
4. Wesley Fofana to Chelsea – €80.4m
5. Marc Cucurella to Chelsea – €65.3m
8= Antonio Conte
Money spent: €1.28bn (£1.1bn/$1.4bn)
Clubs managed: 9 (Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta, Siena, Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Tottenham, Napoli)
Club trophies won: 10 (Serie B, Serie A x5, Supercoppa Italiana x2, Premier League, FA Cup)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Romelu Lukaku to Inter – €74m
2. Alvaro Morata to Chelsea – €66m
3. Richarlison to Tottenham – €58m
4. Cristian Romero to Tottenham – €52m
5. Achraf Hakimi to Inter – €43m
8= Unai Emery
Money spent: €1.28bn (£1.1bn/$1.4bn)
Clubs managed: 9 (Lorca Deportiva, Almería, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Villarreal, Aston Villa)
Club trophies won: 11 (Europa League x4, Ligue 1, Coupe de France x2, Coupe de la Ligue x2, Trophee des Champions x2)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Neymar to PSG – €222m
2. Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal – €80m
3. Amadou Onana to Aston Villa – €59.35m
4. Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa – €55m
5. Ian Maatsen to Aston Villa – €44.5m
8= Manuel Pellegrini
Money spent: €1.28bn (£1.1bn/$1.4bn)
Clubs managed: 14 (Universidad de Chile, Palestino, O’Higgins, Universidad Católica, LDU Quito, San Lorenzo, River Plate, Villarreal, Real Madrid, Málaga, Manchester City, Hebei China Fortune, West Ham United, Real Betis)
Club trophies won: 11 (Copa Chile, Copa Interamericana, Liga Pro, Argentine Primera División x2, Copa Mercosur, Intertoto Cup, Premier League, EFL Cup x2, Copa del Rey)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid – €94m
2. Kevin De Bruyne to Man City – €76m
3. Kaka to Real Madrid – €67m
4. Raheem Sterling to Man City – €63.7m
5. Sebastien Haller to West Ham – €50m
5. Diego Simeone
Money spent: €1.43bn (£1.2bn/$1.6bn)
Clubs managed: 6 (Estudiantes, River Plate, San Lorenzo, Catania, Racing Club, Atlético Madrid)
Club trophies won: 10 (Argentine Primera División x2, La Liga x2, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, Europa League x2, UEFA Super Cup x2)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid – €127.2m
2. Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid – €75m
3. Thomas Lemar to Atletico Madrid – €72m
4. Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid – €60m
5. Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid – €56m
4. Massimiliano Allegri
Money spent: €1.46bn (£1.2bn/$1.7bn)
Clubs managed: 7 (Aglianese, SPAL, Grosseto, Sassuolo, Cagliari, AC Milan, Juventus)
Club trophies won: 15 (Serie C1, Serie A x6, Coppa Italia x5, Supercoppa Italiana x3)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus – €117m
2. Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus – €90m
3. Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus – €83.5m
4. Gleison Bremer to Juventus – €46.9m
5. Federico Chiesa to Juventus – €44.6m
⚪️⚫️ When Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Juventus against his former club Manchester United in 2018 🔥#UCL | @juventusfcen | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/ImyVFn5MMp
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 5, 2021
3. Carlo Ancelotti
Money spent: €1.83bn (£1.5bn/$2.1bn)
Clubs managed: 10 (Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, Real Madrid)
Club trophies won: 31 (Intertoto Cup, Serie A, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, Champions League x5, UEFA Super Cup x5, FIFA Club World Cup x3, FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield, Ligue 1, La Liga x2, Copa del Rey x2, Supercopa de Espana x2, Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup x2)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid – €113m
2. Gareth Bale to Real Madrid – €101m
3. Aurelien Tchouameni to Real Madrid – €80m
4. James Rodriguez to Real Madrid – €75m
5. Fernando Torres to Chelsea – €58.5m
2. Jose Mourinho
Money spent: €1.95bn (£1.6bn/$2.2bn)
Clubs managed: 9 (Benfica, Uniao de Leiria, Porto, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce)
Club trophies won: 26 (Primeira Liga x2, Taca de Portugal, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Champions League x2, Europa League x2, Premier League x3, FA Cup, EFL Cup x4, Community Shield x2, Serie A x2, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, Europa Conference League)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Paul Pogba to Man Utd – €105m
2. Romelu Lukaku to Man Utd – €84.7m
3. Fred to Man Utd – €59m
4. Nemanja Matic to Man Utd – €44.7m
5. Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea – €43.88m
1. Pep Guardiola
Money spent: €2.43bn (£2bn/$2.8bn)
Clubs managed: 3 (Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City)
Club trophies won: 39 (La Liga x3, Copa del Rey x2, Supercopa de Espana x3, Champions League x3, UEFA Super Cup x4, FIFA World Club Cup x4, Bundesliga x3, DFB-Pokal x2, Premier League x6, FA Cup x2, EFL Cup x4, Community Shield x3)
Five Biggest Purchases
1. Jack Grealish to Man City – €117.5m
2. Josko Gvardiol to Man City – €90m
3. Omar Marmoush to Man City – €75m
4. Ruben Dias to Man City – €71.6m
5. Rodri to Man City – €70m
READ MORE: The 10 most expensive transfers in history: Wirtz to Liverpool 6th, no catching Neymar