There are many top football managers right now in the world of football, with some experienced veterans in the game continuing a wonderful 2024 season, while some young football managers are trying to crave their name among the world's best. With the 2024-25 season at the midway, there is plenty of time for the managers to stake a claim that they are deserving of a higher spot among the top football mangers right now.

In this article from Sportz Point, explore the top 10 best football managers in Europe, featuring legendary managers like Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, who led their teams to glory.

What will be the ranking factors?

Trophies they conquered
Recent success
Longevity in this sport
Performance compared to expectations

10 best Football Managers Worldwide right now:

RANK	MANAGERS	NATIONALITY	CURRENT CLUB
1.	Pep Guardiola	Spanish	Manchester City
2.	Carlo Ancelotti	Italian	Real Madrid
3.	Arne Slot	Dutch	Liverpool FC
4.	Simone Inzaghi	Italian	Inter Milan
5.	Xabi Alonso	Spanish	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
6.	Mikel Arteta	Spanish	Arsenal FC
7.	Diego Simeone	Argentine	Atletico Madrid
8.	Jurgen Klopp	German	Currently unattached with any clubs
9.	Hansi Flick	German	FC Barcelona
10.	Unai Emery	Spanish	Aston Villa

10. Unai Emery | Aston Villa:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Unai Emery-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: The Times

Before the 2023-24 season kicked off very few would have given Aston Villa a chance to claim a spot in the UEFA Champions League 2024-25, but Unai Emery ensured that the Villains finished in the top four. The Spanish tactician has been highly regarded and among the top football managers right now. He won multiple UEFA Europa League with Sevilla. Nevertheless, Unai Emery has developed multiple players like John McGinn, Olie Watkins, and Enzi Konsas.

Unai Emery's trophy cabinet:

4x Europa League winner (1x with Villarreal CF in 2020-21, and 3x with Sevilla FC in 2013-14, 14-15, and 15-16)
1x French Champion with Paris Saint Germain (2017-18)
2x French Cup Winner with Paris Saint Germain (2016-17 and 2017-18)
2x French League Cup winner with Paris Saint Germain (2016-17 and 2017-18)
2x French Super Cup winner with Paris Saint Germain (2016-17 and 2017-18)

9. Hansi Flick | FC Barcelona:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Hansi Flick-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: Barca Universal

While his reputation was in the mud after a poor managerial spell in charge of the German national football team, Hansi Flick has reminded the world why he is among the top football managers right now. The former Bayern Munich settled in nicely at Camp Nou and had the Catalan giants flying at the top. Hansi Flick has proved himself to be an intelligent and tactically brilliant manager.

Hansi Flick's trophy cabinet:

1x FIFA World Cup with Germany (2014)
1x FIFA Club World Cup winner with Bayern Munich (2020-21)
1x UEFA Champions League winner (2019-20)
2x Bundesliga Champion with Bayern Munich (2019-20 and 2020-21)
1x German Cup winner with Bayern Munich (2020-21)
1x German Super Cup winner with Bayern Munich (2019-20)
1x Spanish Super Cup winner with FC Barcelona (2024-25)
4x Baden Cup winner with Hoffenheim (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05)

8. Jurgen Klopp | Currently unattached with any clubs:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Jurgen Klopp-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: BBC

Jurgen Klopp is currently not a manager, having left Liverpool FC at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. However, he will be honorably remembered as one of the greatest managers in the Premier League and also one of the top football managers right now.

The German tactician made Liverpool from a mid-table team to one of the title contenders in the Premier League title race. He now works in a non-coaching role for the Red Bull football group.

Jurgen Klopp's trophy Cabinet:

1x UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool FC (2018-19)
1x FIFA Club World Cup winner with Liverpool FC (2019-20)
1x Premier League winner with Liverpool FC (2019-20)
1x English FA Cup winner with Liverpool FC (2021-22)
1x EFL Cup winner with Liverpool FC (2021-22 and 2023-24)
1x English Super Cup winner with Liverpool FC (2022-23)
1x UEFA Super Cup winner with Liverpool FC (2019-20)
2x Bundesliga Champions with Borussia Dortmund (2010-11, 2011-12)
1x German Cup winner with Borussia Dortmund (2011-12)
2x German Super Cup winner (2013-14 and 2014-15)

7. Diego Simeone | Atletico Madrid:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Diego Simeone-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: Atletico Madrid

One of the longest-serving managers in Europe's top five leagues, Diego Simeone is floating among the top football managers right now. In the 2023-24 campaign, Atletico Madrid enjoyed another successful team as they qualified for the UEFA Champions League yet again.

The disappointment will come with the lack of silverware collected as Atletico Madrid was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season in the quarterfinals despite being one of the favorites to win the title.

Diego Simeone's trophy cabinet:

2x Spanish Champion with Atletico Madrid (2020-21 and 2013-14)
2x UEFA Super Cup Champions with Atletico Madrid (2012-13 and 2018-19)
2x UEFA Europa League winner with Atletico Madrid (2011-12 and 2017-18)
1x Spanish Super Cup winner with Atletico Madrid (2013-14)
1x Spanish Cup winner with Atletico Madrid (2012-13)
2x Argentine Champions 1x with Club Estudiantes de La Plata (2005-06) and 1x with River Plate (2007-08)

6. Mikel Arteta | Arsenal:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Mikel Arteta-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: CNN

Arsenal fans would back their boss as the best on the planet as Mikel Arteta has transformed the club's fortunes in recent years and had them in contention to win the Premier League title for a second successive season.

If the Gunners had become champions of England for the first time in 20 years, the Spanish tactician would have been praised as a hero. Despite, his failure to conquer silverware, he is one of the top football managers right now.

Mikel Arteta's trophy Cabinet:

2x English Champion with Manchester City (2017-18 and 2018-19)
2x English FA Cup winner 1x with Arsenal (2019-20) and 1x with Manchester City (2018-19)
3x English Super Cup Winner 1x with Manchester City (2018-19) and 2x with Arsenal (2020-21 and 2023-24)
Note: Mikel Arteta was Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City.

5. Xabi Alonso | Bayer 04 Leverkusen:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Xabi Alonso — Image Credit: GOAL

The work Xabi Alonso has done during his two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen is incredible. His team went on the longest unbeaten run in Europe's top 10 leagues and knocked Bayern Munich off their Bundesliga rest for the first time in over a decade, because of his tactical masterclass he is among the top football managers right now.

Alonso lifted the German league title and added the 2024 DFB Pokal to Leverkusen's trophy cabinet, but he ultimately fell short in the Europa League, overall, it was a tremendous season.

Xabi Alonso's trophy cabinet:

1x Bundesliga Champion with Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2023-24)
1x German Super Cup winner with Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2023-24)
1x DFB Pokal winner with Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2023-24)

4. Simone Inzaghi | Inter Milan:

Simone Inzaghi : 10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: BBC

To be ranked above the likes of Klopp, Alonso, and Arteta in 2024 is an incredible achievement and a testament to the work Simone Inzaghi has done at Inter Milan. The Serie A title returned to the Italian giants after they secured the trophy in the best way possible, against fierce rivals AC Milan at the San Siro.

He also came so close to being the first Inter boss to bring the Champions League back to Italy in the 2022/23 season, narrowly losing in the final against Manchester City. Surely, he is among the top football managers right now.

Simone Inzaghi's trophy cabinet:

1x Italian Champion with Inter Milan (2023-24)
3x Italian Cup winner 1x with Lazio (2018-19) and 2x with Inter Milan (2021-22 and 2022-23)
2x Coppa Italia winner with Lazio (2013-14 and 2014-15)
1x Italian Supercoppa winner with Lazio (2014-15)
-5x Italian Super Cup winner 2x with Lazio (2017-18 and 2019-20) and 3x with Inter Milan (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24)
Note: He was Lazio's under-19 team coach

3. Arne Slot | Liverpool FC:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Arne Slot-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: The NY Times

After a solid run with Feyenoord, Arne Slot was chosen to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool last summer. Considering the legacy that the former coach left behind at Anfield, Slot had a lot to live up to, and it would have been easy for the pressure to get to him quickly.

Instead, he's taken the Reds and shot them straight to the top of the Premier League. He enjoyed the best start of any manager in Liverpool's history and is showing no signs of slowing down right now. His managerial spell with Feyenoord was enough to make his name among the top football managers right now.

Arne Slot's trophy Cabinet:

1x Dutch Champion with Feyenoord (2022-23)
1x Dutch Cup winner with Feyenoord (2022-23)

2. Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid CF:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Carlo Ancelotti-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: The Guardian

As one of the few people to have won the European Cup as both a player and manager, Carlo Ancelotti will leave an ever-lasting legacy. The Italian first dipped his toe in the world of management in 1995 and, almost three decades later, he is still among the top football managers right now.

The 65-year-old has won league titles in four of the top five European leagues: England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France, and most recently secured a Spanish league and Champions League double.

Carlo Ancelotti's trophy cabinet:

5x UEFA Champions League winner 2x with AC Milan (2002-03, 2006-07) and 3x with Real Madrid (2013-14, 2021-22, 2022-23)
2x Spanish Champion with Real Madrid (2021-22 and 2023-24)
1x Premier League Champion with Chelsea (2009-10)
1x Italian Champion with AC Milan (2003-04)
1x French Champion with Paris Saint-German (2012-13)
1x German Champion with Bayern Munich (2016-17)
3x FIFA Club World Cup Champion 1x with AC Milan (2007-08), 2x with Real Madrid (2014-15 & 2022-23)
1x FIFA Intercontinental Cup winner with Real Madrid (2023-24)
5x UEFA Super Cup winner 2x with AC Milan (2003-04, 2007-08) and 3x with Real Madrid (2014-15, 2022-23, 2024-25)
2x Spanish Cup winner (2013-14 and 2022-23)
1x Italian Cup winner (2002-03)
2x German Super Cup winner (2016-17 & 2017-18)
2x Spanish Super Cup winner with Real Madrid (2021-22 and 2023-24)
1x English Super Cup winner with Chelsea (2009-10)

1. Pep Guardiola | Manchester City:

10 Best Football Managers Worldwide Right Now: Pep Guardiola-sportzpoint.com — Image Credit: Manchester City FC

Pep Guardiola ranks first among the top football managers right now. Pep Guardiola still has enough credit in the bank to be regarded as the best manager in world football. Manchester City won a fourth consecutive Premier League title under the former Barcelona man, and yet 2023/24 still felt like a slightly underwhelming campaign. Those are the high standards set by the Catalan genius.

Guardiola has cemented himself as one of the greatest managers of all time. While his side has struggled as of late, there is no doubt that the former Barcelona man is still the best manager in the world.

Pep Guardiola's trophy cabinet:

3x UEFA Champions League winner 2x with FC Barcelona (2008-09 & 2010-11) and 1x with Manchester City (2022-23)
4x FIFA Club World Cup winner 2x with FC Barcelona (2008-09 & 2010-11) 1x with Bayern Munich (2013-14) and 1x with Manchester City (2023-24)
3x German Champion with Bayern Munich (2013-14, 2015-16, and 2014-15)
3x Spanish Champion with FC Barcelona (2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11)
6x English Champion with Manchester City (2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24)
4x UEFA Super Cup winner: 1x with Manchester City (2023-24), 1x with Bayern Munich (2013-14), 2x with FC Barcelona (2009-10 and 2011-12)
2x DFB Pokal winner with Bayern Munich (2013-14 and 2015-16)
2x English FA Cupo winner with Manchester City (2018-19 and 2022-23)
2x Spanish Cup winner with FC Barcelona (2008-09 and 2011-12)
3x Spanish Super Cup winner with FC Barcelona (2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12)
4x EFL Cup winner with Manchester City (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21)
3x English Super Cup winner with Manchester City (2018-19, 2019-20, 2024-25)

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