Arsenal are expected to reward Mikel Arteta with a new contract which will make him the highest paid manager in the Premier League and one of the top earners on the planet, according to multiple reports.
Arteta signed his current deal which stretches until the summer of 2027 at the start of last season. When pushed on a potential extension amid the thick of the Premier League title race, Arsenal’s boss dismissed talks. “We don’t have time to discuss that now,” Arteta told assembled media in April. “The full focus is on what we have to do from here until the end of the season.”
Despite this delay, he was at pains to stress his enduring affection for Arsenal. “I’m fully committed here,” the tactician added. “I’m really happy and I feel good. My family’s good. I still have so much ambition and things to do at this club. For now, we are in a good place.”
The end of a 22-year wait for Premier League glory has put Arteta in an even better place, which could yet improve as Arsenal prepare for a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
By way of compensation for becoming the second manager to ever win the Premier League for the Gunners, Arteta is set to be presented with a “lucrative” new contract, as first reported by The Guardian.
The Basque boss is currently thought to earn somewhere in the region of $13.4 million (£10 million) with the added bonus of $6.7 million for Champions League qualification. Arteta’s new terms are expected to “come close” to matching the world-leading salary of $34.8 million which Atlético Madrid boss Diego Simeone reportedly collects.
The Highest Paid Managers in the World
Simeone has supposedly sat atop the list of managerial high earners for years. Some may question the sense behind that pay packet given Atlético’s failure to consistently challenge for the La Liga title. Yet, that overlooks the financial chasm which separates the proud underdogs and the Clásico duo.
According to the last available accounts, Atlético are the 13th richest club on the planet with an annual revenue of $531.7 million. Real Madrid and Barcelona occupy the top two spots on this global ranking with earnings of more than double Simeone’s side.
Money is no object for Saudi Pro League giants Al Hilal, who have made Simone Inzaghi Simeone’s closest financial challenger with an annual wage in the region of $29.2 million, per L’Équipe.
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is widely credited with a salary of around $26.8 million which currently sets him out as the Premier League’s top earner. Arteta’s proposed compensation may very well exceed that lofty figure but he is all but guaranteed to stand out as England’s highest paid manager as Guardiola sails off into the sunset.
Arteta’s opponent in the upcoming Champions League final, PSG’s Luis Enrique, is in line for his own bumper pay rise. The Spanish boss will see his current compensation of $13.9 million leap to $23.2 million should he pen the contract extension offered to him by the French giants, L’Équipe report.
There is a growing suspicion among some facets of the sport that the role of the manager is almost redundant in the modern age. Luke Bornn, AC Milan’s former data-driven co-owner, once infamously said: “The vast majority of papers out there say coaches don’t matter. I’m oversimplifying, but that’s basically it.” Clearly, some clubs would argue otherwise.
