Highest fees ever paid for football managers

The most lucrative transfer moves in football are most typically reserved for players, but in recent times there has been an upturn in clubs forking out substantial fees to acquire new managers.

This makes sense given the importance of the role, with more and more clubs seeking to tie their managers down by incorporating significant release clauses in their contracts.

We explore the biggest managerial release clauses ever triggered in football.

10) Christophe Galtier - €10m

Nice -> PSG (2022)

Another manager to have replaced Mauricio Pochettino for a substantial price was Christophe Galtier at Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2022.

A vastly experienced coach in French football, sensationally beating PSG to the Ligue 1 title in charge of Lille in the 2020/21, the Parisians parted with €10m to poach Galtier from Nice.

Charged with maintaining PSG's dominance at the summit of Ligue 1 and achieving what an array of world-class managers before him were unable to with regards to landing the club's maiden UEFA Champions League crown, Galtier ultimately struggled in the French capital.

Despite winning the Ligue 1 title in 2022/23, Galtier lasted only one season in charge of PSG before being replaced by Luis Enrique.

9) Ruben Amorim - €10m

Braga -> Sporting CP (2020)

Undoubtedly representing a considerable gamble at the time, it took just two months in charge of Braga for Lisbon giants Sporting CP to be convinced to part with €10m to acquire the services of promising young coach Ruben Amorim.

Amorim had been able to guide Braga to their first trophy in four years after toppling Porto in the final of the Portuguese League Cup, winning 10 of his 13 matches in charge in total.

Sporting's strong faith in Amorim's ability was ultimately rewarded, with the former Benfica midfielder steering the club to its first Primeira Liga title in 19 years in 2020/21 before winning the league again in 2023/24.

8) Brendan Rodgers - €10.4m

Celtic -> Leicester City (2019)

Having won seven consecutive domestic trophies at Celtic and on course for an unprecedented ‘Quadruple Treble’, Brendan Rodgers was convinced to return south by Premier League side Leicester City.

The Foxes were forced to part with a substantial €10.4m fee to acquire the Northern Irishman, who had previously been in charge of Reading, Watford, Swansea and Liverpool in English football.

A forward-thinking manager, Rodgers’ four-year tenure at Leicester was a largely successful one – guiding the club to four top half finishes in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup in 2021.

7) Ruben Amorim - €11m

Sporting CP -> Manchester United (2024)

Desperate to turn around the club's fortunes after a prolonged period of underperformance following the departure of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, Manchester United's INEOS ownership activated a €11m release clause to appoint Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim as the club's new manager.

Amorim is set to arrive at Man Utd with an esteemed reputation in Portugal - winning two Primeira Liga titles in his four-year tenure as Sporting Lisbon boss.

A young and ambitious coach, Amorim has emerged as one of the most highly-rated young managers in Europe as a result of his success in Portugal, with his appointment by Man Utd representing a coup for the Red Devils in their pursuit of a return to the top table of elite European football.

6) Thomas Frank - €11.8m

Brentford -> Tottenham (2025)

Despite ending Tottenham Hotspur's 17-year wait for a trophy with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final, the club's underwhelming league campaign under Ange Postecoglou meant the Australian was dismissed of his duties.

The club moved instantaneously in pursuit of Postecoglou's successor, identifying Brentford's Thomas Frank as the ideal man for the job.

One of the most respected managers in the division, the Dane had taken the Bees from the Championship to the brink of European football in the 2024/25 term.

Frank became the third most expensive manager in Premier League history when Tottenham activated his €11.8m managerial release clause, trading west London for north London.

5) Vincent Kompany - €12m

Burnley -> Bayern Munich (2024)

A lot of eyebrows were raised when European heavyweights Bayern Munich elected to appoint Vincent Kompany as the club's new manager with the Belgian having just been relegated from the Premier League whilst in charge of Burnley.

Appearing from the outside as a significant gamble for the Bavarians to take, with Kompany an inexperienced manager at the elite level of the European game, Bayern's faith in the former Manchester City captain was underlined by their willingness to pay Burnley €12m in compensation.

Starting his managerial career in his homeland with Anderlecht, Kompany opted to leave the Belgian giants to return to English football with Burnley following the Clarets' relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in the summer of 2022.

A world class defender during his playing days, Kompany made a tremendous impact in charge at Turf Moor as Burnley romped to the Championship title with an incredible points tally of 101.

Despite his struggle to successfully transfer Burnley's success to the top flight, Bayern had already seen enough from Kompany with regards to his tactical philosophy, leadership and charisma to convince them into selecting the Belgian as the club's new figurehead.

4) Andre Villas-Boas - €15m

Porto -> Chelsea (2011)

There are parallels to be drawn between Amorim and his compatriot Andre Villas-Boas.

The hot young manager of his time, Villas-Boas made the move from Portuguese football to the Premier League in the summer of 2011 after Chelsea agreed to pay Porto his €15m release clause.

Aged only 33, Villas-Boas landed the Chelsea gig on the back of a sensational debut season in charge of Porto in which the Portuguese giants completed an undefeated league season and secured a treble of trophies including the UEFA Europa League.

Villas-Boas ultimately struggled at Chelsea, in charge for just eight months with the Blues struggling in their quest to finish in the top four of the Premier League in 2011/12, with interim manager Roberto Di Matteo sensationally going on to deliver both the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.

3) Jose Mourinho - €16m

Inter -> Real Madrid (2010)

The third Portuguese manager on this list, and a well-documented influence upon both Amorim and Villas-Boas, Jose Mourinho became the most expensive manager ever when he swapped Inter for Real Madrid in 2010.

At the time Mourinho was widely regarded as the best manager in the world following a Treble-winning campaign with the Nerazzuri which saw the Italians scoop the UEFA Champions League title with a victory over Bayern Munich in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Previously a UEFA Champions League winner with Porto and a serial trophy collector in England with Chelsea, Mourinho always appeared destined for a crack at arguably the biggest job in world club football in charge of Los Blancos.

Faced with the challenge of taking on Pep Guardiola's juggernaut of a Barcelona team, Mourinho would go on to win one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey in his three years in charge of Real.

2) Julian Nagelsmann - €20m

RB Leipzig -> Bayern Munich (2021)

Another young manager to have been bought out by a European heavyweight at a young age is Julian Nagelsmann, with Bayern Munich agreeing to pay his €20m release clause at RB Leipzig in 2021.

A precocious young coach who had achieved marked success in charge of both Hoffenheim and Leipzig, Bayern had seen enough to part with a sizeable sum to hand Nagelsmann the biggest job in German football at the age of just 33.

A proponent of the tactical philosophy of gegenpressing formed by German coach Ralf Rangnick and further popularised by the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Nagelsmann was billed as a long-term appointment who could usher the Bavarians forward into a new era.

This was not to be, however, with Nagelsmann in post for just under two years before the Bayern board decided to relieve him of his duties due to frustrations with the team's performances following the Qatar winter World Cup in 2022.

1) Graham Potter - €23m

Brighton -> Chelsea (2022)

The world record fee paid for a manager belongs to Chelsea, with the Blues opting to splash out €23m to bring in Graham Potter from Brighton in 2022 as part of American owner Todd Boehly's free-spending approach.

Potter had garnered a reputation as one of the sharpest English tactical minds in the game having earned his stripes in management overseas with Swedish outfit Ostersunds before enjoying success with both Swansea City and Brighton on British shores.

Renowned for his possession-oriented, progressive style of play, Potter was deemed the perfect coach to get a tune out of Chelsea's new-look squad packed with expensive new youthful signings.

Potter's Chelsea reign appeared doomed from the outset, however, with his squad of new young players struggling to find their feet in the Premier League and gel together as a functioning team, and the Englishman was sacked by the Blues less than seven months after taking charge.