Biggest transfer fees paid for a manager

Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly set to join Manchester United for a speculated fee of €10M. He surpasses the record of his own transfer to Sporting from Braga as Sporting paid €10M to Braga as a compensation fee. However, United has agreed to trigger the said release clause of €10M to bring the 39-year-old Portuguese to Old Trafford. 

🚨🔴 BREAKING: Manchester United are set to pay €10m exit clause for Rúben Amorim to become new manager, here we go!

Sporting confirm formal communication received from #MUFC for Amorim to be appointed.

Amorim has already said yes to Man Utd proposal and project. pic.twitter.com/v17tR1oqlm

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 29, 2024

Here is the list of the managers for whom the biggest transfer fees were paid.

Biggest transfer fees paid for a manager

7. Ruben Amorim | SC Braga to Sporting CP, €10M

Ruben Amorim was a former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese national team. Amorim retired from professional football in 2017 but It did not take long for him to bag a managerial job as he took up the hot-seat of Portuguese side Casa Pia AC in 2018. 

Amorim joined another Portuguese outfit, SC Braga in 2019 and he was in charge for only 13 games in Braga. Sporting CP barged in soon to take Ruben away and he was appointed as the manager of Sporting in March 2020. They paid a compensation fee of €10M to bring Ruben in. 

Sporting gave the hot seat to Ruben Amorim and he did not disappoint the club officials at all. Ruben won Sporting their first Liga Portugal title in 19 years in his very first full season in Charge, 2020-21. Amorim also won his second Portuguese league title in 2023-24. 

6. Ruben Amorim | Sporting CP to Manchester United, €10M

With Erik Ten Hag getting sacked after 2 years in charge as Manchester United's head coach, Ruben Amorim has emerged as the best profile to replace the Dutch. Sporting CP has officially confirmed in a statement that United agreed to trigger Amorim's reported release clause of €10M.

Amorim was in charge of Sporting for 228 games in total and he holds an extraordinary record of winning 162 out of them while drawing 33 and losing 33 as well. Amorim made Sporting the Portuguese champions in 2020-21 which was his first full season in charge. He also won the 2020-21 Portugal League Cup with Sporting.

Amorim clinched the Portuguese Super Cup and his third League Cup in 2021-22 and became the Portuguese champions again in 2023-24. Before heading to Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim has already won 5 trophies with the current Portuguese champions. 

5. Brendan Rodgers | Celtic to Leicester, €10.5M

Brendan Rodgers left the Scottish side Celtic FC to surprisingly join Leicester City midway through the 2018-19 season. The former Liverpool boss and his coaching staff joined Leicester City in February 2019 as Leicester paid €10.5M to Celtic as transfer fees which led to massive controversies during that time.

"You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt. Always a fraud."

Celtic fans had a strong message for Brendan Rodgers after he left the club to join Leicester City 👀 pic.twitter.com/6weLme7L25

— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) February 27, 2019

Rodgers led Leicester to win the 2020-21 FA Cup and 2021 Community Shield before leaving the English side in April 2023. He left the club during a disastrous 2022-23 PL season and Leicester got relegated from the Premier League. 

In July 2023, Rodgers assumed the charge of Celtic head coach again and won them the 2023-24 Scottish Premiership title and 2023-24 Scottish Cup. 

4. Vincent Kompany | Burnley to Bayern  Munich | €12M

Coming off as a total surprise, Vincent Kompany was brought in by Bayern Munich as the successor of Thomas Tuchel after they paid Burnley a sum of €12M in 2024. 

This move was indeed a surprise from Bayern because Kompany's previous season's endeavour with Burnley was a total disaster. Burnley got relegated from the Premier League last season which was Kompany's second season in charge of Burnley. They won only five games in the whole season and finished 19th before eventually getting relegated. 

2017-18: Vincent Kompany captained Manchester City to 100 Premier League points.

2022-23: Vincent Kompany manages Burnley to 100+ Championship points.

Vinny is a Centurion through and through 💪 pic.twitter.com/I2TI0QWKKj

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 8, 2023

However, the 38-year-old Belgian won the EFL Championship with Burnley with 101 points to earn them promotion to the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. 

3. Andre Villas-Boas | Porto to Chelsea | €15M

The current FC Porto President, Andre Villas-Boas arrived in the Premier League to assume the charge of Chelsea gaffer in July 2011. Villas-Boas was a part of Chelsea legend Jose Mourinho's coaching staff, back in 2004 to 2008. 

• Part of Sir Bobby Robson’s coaching staff at 16
• Four trophies at Porto, including the league undefeated
• Youngest coach to win the Europa League
• Three trophies with Zenit
• Successful spells at Shanghai SIPG and Marseille

Happy birthday André Villas-Boas. 🇵🇹🎂 pic.twitter.com/jVaar6FOrl

— Coaches' Voice (@CoachesVoice) October 17, 2024

Only after one year in charge of FC Porto, the Blues welcomed him to Stamford Bridge after paying a hefty fee of €15M but it did not quite pay off. Villas-Boas lasted only 40 matches as Chelsea's manager and was sacked in March 2012. However, assistant manager Robert Di Matteo made Chelsea the European Champions that season as a caretaker manager after the departure of Andre Villas-Boas.

2. Graham Potter | Brighton to Chelsea | €23M

One of the most successful managers in Brighton and Hove Albion's history, Graham Potter moved to Chelsea in September 2022. The West London club paid Brighton a total of €23M to snatch him away, just one month into the 2022-23 season.

The pic of Graham #Potter’s signing with #Chelsea as new manager. Contract until 2027. #transfers #CFC pic.twitter.com/1l6uVOrk0s

— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) September 12, 2022

Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel, the UCL-winning coach for the Blues, but his tenure at Chelsea did not pay off at all as he was sacked in April 2023 despite having a five-year contract. Potter lost 11 matches and won only 12 games for the Blues and was sacked after only 31 games in charge. 

1. Julian Nagelsmann | RB Leipzig to Bayern Munich | €25M

In June 2021, Bayern Munich paid RB Leipzig a total sum of €25 million to acquire the services of Julian Nagelsmann and this is still the world-record fee paid for a manager. The Bavarians appointed Nagelsmann as the successor of former boss Hansi Flick. 

Although the 35-year-old guided Bayern to their tenth consecutive Bundesliga victory, Bayern's 2021-22  Champions League exit after losing to Villareal in the quarter-final made a huge impact on his future. In Nagelsmann's second year in charge, Bayern was struggling in the German league and the Bayern officials finally decided to sack him. The news was made official on 24 March 2023. 

Julian Nagelsmann’s record as Bayern coach:

84 games: 60 W, 14 D, 10 L
71.4% win percentage
1 Bundesliga title
2 German Super Cups
8/8 wins in UCL this season

😳 pic.twitter.com/A7oXZ3TEmA

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 24, 2023

However, he also won two more trophies with Bayern; the DFB Supercup in 2021 and 2022. Currently, Nagelsmann is the head coach of the German national team.