Top 10 managers who have spent the most in the transfer market

Atharva Gosavi

Football nowadays is far off from just nurturing young players and incorporating them into the first team. When it comes to improving the first team, the transfer market has a major say in matters.

Managers these days prefer spending chunks of cash to buy developed players and strengthen teams in order to get quick results. That being said, let’s have a look at 10 managers who have spent millions on buying star players.

10. Unai Emery – £634.23m

Arsenal boss Unai Emery will go down in history as the manager to have purchased the most expensive player in the history of the game. The Spaniard was the man at the helm when Paris Saint Germain broke the world record to sign Neymar for £200m from Barcelona.

Interestingly, the transfer amount for Neymar consumes one-fourth of the amount he has spent on buying players in his entire managerial career. However, despite his transfer exploits, Emery has also built a reputation for being one of the most shrewd managers to invest in players.

Arsenal signed Kieran Tierney, Gabrielle Martinelli, Nicolas Pepe and David Luiz this summer and it remains to be seen if the investments prove to be enough to win back the Champions League spot.

9. Rafael Benitez – £677.42m

Rafa Benitez is known for managing a bunch of mediocre clubs like Newcastle, but also has the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid on his CV. He has signed 92 players for seven different clubs in his managerial career.

Benitez is mostly known for the Spanish LaLiga league title he won with Valencia. However, his biggest achievement till date remains the Champions League triumph with Liverpool in 2005.

Interestingly, the Spaniard signed 10 of his 14 most expensive players for the Merseysiders, Fernando Torres being the most costliest player on that list for £34m. He broke that record when he purchased Higuain in a £35m deal from Real Madrid at Napoli.

Unfortunately, his transfer exploits didn’t match his record purchasing habits when he was the manager at Newcastle.8. Claudio Ranieri – £720.93m

Italian tactician Claudio Ranieri is one of the most famous journeymen when it comes to managers. He has managed 11 clubs in his career so far, signing 95 players in the process.

And he is unforgettable, right? Ranieri’s guidance saw Leicester City complete a fairytale season and win the Premier League in 2016.

His two most expensive acquisitions came during his spell at Monaco when he purchased Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez for a combined fee of £80m.

7. Roberto Mancini – £721.41m

Roberto Mancini is known for laying the cornerstone of Manchester City’s title-winning team in 2012.

The Italian started his team-building activity at the Etihad in 2010, as he signed Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, the two most expensive players of his tenure in Manchester for a combined fee of £69m. The money came to good use as well, as the duo scored in the club’s league-winning game against Queens Park Rangers.6. Arsene Wenger – £867.38m

Arsene Wenger is one of the greatest managers ever to have graced the Premier League. And, in his bid to topple Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, the Frenchman spent a large fortune on bringing world-class talent to the Emirates.

Having managed four clubs in his career, Wenger spent almost three-fourth of his amount in buying players at Arsenal.

His top four most expensive buys all remain at Arsenal to this day: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Grant Xhaka. Aubameyang held the record for the club’s most expensive transfer at the north of £60m, which was broken by the £72m arrival of Nicolas Pepe this summer.

5. Massimiliano Allegri – £914m

Massimiliano Allegro has built a reputation as one of the most tactically gifted managers in the game. While the Italian is capable of producing given any squad he manages, he has used money adequately enough in tandem with his prowess on the whiteboard.

Allegri has managed only 3 clubs so far, but has spent a big chunk of cash and brought 87 players till date. His most expensive signing to this date remains none other than Cristiano Ronaldo, who was purchased from Real Madrid for £105m.

However, in spite of spending close to a billion, Allegri has delivered what was asked of him at Juventus. The Italian made the Bianconeri a force to reckon in Italy and Europe, and no one can dare point a finger at him for not giving satisfactory results.4. Manuel Pellegrini – £949m

Manuel Pellegrini is just another manager like Rafa Benitez – one who is known for having managed both mid-table clubs and European heavyweights. On his CV, he boasts jobs at West Ham, Villa Real, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Pellegrini’s most expensive signing, just like Allegri, remains Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star was bought from Manchester United for a world-record £80m deal in 2009 by Real Madrid during his tenure at the Bernabeu.

However, unlike Allegri, Pellegrini hardly has a glittering trophy cabinet to boast about.

3. Pep Guardiola – £1.03bn

And we enter the billion club. First up is none other than the genius Pep Guardiola, whose management skills have seen Manchester City become a powerhouse in Europe and England in the last three years.

Guardiola has managed four clubs so far until now, which includes Barcelona B team as well. He has signed only 52 players to reach the £1bn mark.

However, seven of his top 10 signings have come at Manchester City, where he has been blindly backed by the Sheikhs. None of his signings at Bayern Munich make it to the top 10.

Known for his historic work at Barcelona where he won the sextuple, the Spaniard also made his most expensive signing in a £62.5m deal to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the Nou Camp from Inter Milan.

Shame it didn’t end on good terms…2. Carlo Ancelotti – £1.11 bn

Carlo Ancelotti is one of the best bosses in football in modern times. The Italian has spent huge amounts of cash but also delivered success in the contrary.

Having managed 8 different clubs, Ancelotti has signed 85 players till date. His most expensive signings came during his tenure at Real Madrid when he signed Gareth Bale for £90m and James Rodriguez for £67m.

Gareth Bale did prove to be an asset to him as well as to Zinedine Zidane in his Champions League treble, albeit James didn’t.

1. Jose Mourinho – £1.40bn

Number one has to be special, and it’s none other than The Special One. The Portuguese tactician, apart from his notrious fall-outs with various clubs, is also known for his spendthrift nature in the transfer market.

Mourinho has managed seven clubs till date, four of which are amongst the European heavyweights’ panel – Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United. He has bought 97 players till date.

Mourinho’s costliest signing is none other than Paul Pogba, who was signed for £90m in his first year as Manchester United manager. Unfortunately, they ended up with a lot of bad blood between themselves.

Mourinho is also known for not always delivering the goods in spite of making expensive purchases. Five of his top 6 signings came at Manchester United and yet he achieved nothing substantial apart from winning the Europa League.