10 Highest-Spending Managers in Football Since Last Major Trophy Win

They say you can’t throw money at a problem, but more often than not in football, that seems to be the solution to everything. And certain football clubs do exactly that, but do so strategically, with strong recruitment policies that allow them to climb up the table or progress further in cup competitions.

That being said, while money can buy you the best players, it doesn’t offer any guarantees and may also lead to some expensive mistakes. Even some of the biggest managers have paid the price for this. So, with that in mind, using the data available courtesy of Transfermarkt, we have been able to find out which 10 managers have spent the most since their last major trophy.

10

David Moyes – £200.2m Spent

Minus a spell at Manchester United, David Moyes has never truly been at a club where spending big and winning trophies is the biggest priority. And though he was often overlooked and disrespected by the end of his reign at West Ham, he did at least bring them a European title.

The 2023 Conference League success was a major moment for both club and manager, but since then Moyes has been let go and returned to former club Everton. And in those two years, he has spent north of £200 million — but unless the Toffees can bring home a domestic cup, expect this figure to keep rising for years to come.

9

Marcelino – £216.6m Spent

A true veteran of Spanish club football, Marcelino has managed eight teams in the country’s top flight and also had a stint as Marseille boss. These aren’t small jobs either, with his resume including the likes of Valencia, Villarreal and Athletic Club. Yet despite that, he only has three trophies to his name.

His most recent came in the 2020/21 season, when he guided Bilbao to the Spanish Super Cup. Since then, he has been in France, come back to rejoin Villarreal, and spent a cool £216.6 million without any reward as of yet. A cup seems to be his best hope, but toppling Real Madrid or Barcelona is easier said than done.

8

Stefano Pioli – £249.4m Spent

Stefano Pioli

In the same way that Marcelino has done the rounds in Spain, the same can be said of Stefano Pioli. The 59-year-old has taken charge of a whole host of Serie A clubs in his time, and as his career has gone on, it has led to some of the big boys being interested — including both Milan clubs.

It was with AC that he claimed his only managerial trophy, that being the 2021/22 Serie A title. After that, he opted to go manage Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo, but now is back in Italy with Fiorentina. It means he’s a bit further away from success than he was three years ago, and he has spent almost £250 million already trying to taste victory again.

7

Arne Slot – £253.7m Spent

Now, hold on — this must be a mistake. Arne Slot literally won the Premier League in his first season in charge of Liverpool in May of this year. That was just three months ago. Well, the sheer amount he has been backed in the market as a result of that triumph means he is already well into this list.

Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike — in fact, at the time of writing, Giovanni Leoni has also been added to that list and isn’t even factored into the overall figure, so Slot could actually be even higher! But after what was a strong first campaign which actually lacked many incomings, the Dutchman has made sure to lay down the gauntlet this term with his incredible business.

6

Erik ten Hag – £286.5m Spent

From one Dutchman to another — though this one didn’t reach the heights of the one who came before him on this list. In many interviews since his Manchester United sacking, Erik ten Hag is quick to remind reporters that he did, in fact, win two trophies: the Carabao Cup in 2023, followed by the shock FA Cup triumph in 2024 that likely saved him from getting the sack at the end of that season after finishing 8th in the Premier League.

The signings of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte couldn’t save him from being removed just months later, and he is now looking to bring more good times to Bayer Leverkusen — although he has not made the best of starts on that front either.

5

Nico Kovac – £351.4m Spent

Another manager who has done a grand tour of a certain country, Niko Kovac is one of the most familiar coaches when it comes to German football. The Croatian’s success at Eintracht Frankfurt, which saw him lift the German Cup, led to a move to Bayern Munich, where he completed a domestic double in his first season.

Months after that, though, he was sacked — such is the relentless pressure of the job in Bavaria. A detour to Monaco followed, before stints at Wolfsburg and now Borussia Dortmund. He is the first manager on this list to surpass the £300 million mark, and by quite some distance. But if he can get things right at Dortmund, some sort of success shouldn’t be ruled out.

4

Pep Guardiola – £378.2m Spent

Pep Guardiola may well be one of the best tacticians in the world, but the fact cannot be ignored that his style of football has been so flawlessly executed by brilliant players because he has had the funds to spend when and where necessary. And not all of those moves have been a success — £100m on Jack Grealish looks rather foolish in hindsight.

Usually, though, it does have its benefits, as City will often bring home multiple trophies per season. However, the 2024/25 campaign threw a spanner in the works, as they dropped to third in the Premier League and didn’t come out on top in a single cup competition after losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace. It means their last piece of silverware came in the form of the 2023/24 league title — and they have spent over £375m since.

3

Unai Emery – £407.5m Spent

Given the figure, it may have been fair to assume that Unai Emery’s last trophy came before his run at Arsenal, when he enjoyed domestic success with PSG. But that’s not the case, as he led Villarreal to a Europa League win over Manchester United in 2021 — his fourth time winning the competition.

Since then, he has returned to England with Aston Villa and completely transformed the fortunes of the club, helping them return to the Champions League during his tenure. He still harbours hopes of silverware in the Midlands and clearly hasn’t been afraid to spend in order to achieve that goal — even if it is yet to come to fruition.

2

Diego Simeone – £461.9m Spent

Real Madrid are often the team in the Spanish capital linked with spending the big bucks, but the data shows that Diego Simeone hasn’t been afraid to force Atletico Madrid’s owners to put their hands in their pockets in recent years. It just hasn’t led to much glory.

Expensive acquisitions such as Julian Alvarez are yet to help Simeone reap the rewards, with his last trophy coming in the 2020/21 season as the addition of Luis Suarez helped Atleti win the La Liga title. Atletico are usually second fiddle in the city and the third best in the league, but you’d have to think that the odds will surely land in their favour sooner rather than later to bring an end to Simeone’s expensive suffering.

1

Mikel Arteta – £863.4m Spent

Almost double that of second place — a position he knows all too well. Since Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2020, here is a full list of English teams to win a major trophy: Leicester City, Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Tottenham. In that time frame, all except for City have had different managers, yet Arsenal have stuck with theirs on the basis of promise and a project.

Well, with €1 billion spent on new players over that period, time may finally be running out for Mikel Arteta. Another year as a runner-up will not cut it, and the Spaniard must now deliver big. Another domestic cup won’t suffice either. At this point, it’s Premier League, Champions League or bust for the Gunners.

Managers With Highest Spend Since Last Trophy
Rank	Manager	£m
1.	Mikel Arteta	863.4
2.	Diego Simeone	461.9
3.	Unai Emery	407.5
4.	Pep Guardiola	378.2
5.	Nico Kovac	351.4
6.	Erik ten Hag	286.5
7.	Arne Slot	253.7
8.	Steafno Pioli	249.4
9.	Marcelino	216.6
10.	David Moyes	200.2

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