Mourinho, Guardiola Ranked in the Top 5 Managers With the Highest Total Transfer Spend in History

• Jose Mourinho tops the list of the managers who have spent the most transfer fees in football
• The ex-Chelsea boss leads top coaches like Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti on the spend list
• Arsene Wenger and recently sacked Tottenham boss Antonio Conte failed to make the top five

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are regarded among the most successful managers in the history of football, owing their successes on the pitch.

These managers have won multiple trophies with various top teams throughout their careers and it is not a surprise to see them dominate the list of highest spending managers in history.

These days, it is increasingly difficult to win anything in top-level football without recruiting top-class talent for enormous sums and these managers know that.

Coaches like Arsene Wenger had gone trophy-less for many seasons because they refused to splash the cash for the best talents while watching others win.

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The former Arsenal boss failed to make the list of top five coaches who have spent big in football alongside recently sacked Tottenham Hotspur manager, Antonio Conte.

Sports Brief, with the aid of Planet Football, takes a look at the top five biggest-spending coaches in football history.

5. Massimiliano Allegri – €1.08 billion

Massimiliano Allegri oversaw some significant investment during his first stint as manager of Juventus from 2014 to 2019, most notably the €117 million signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and the €90 million purchase of Gonzalo Higuain.

He also spent some big money at AC Milan, with his most expensive signing at the San Siro Stadium being Zlatan Ibrahimovic for €24 million in 2011.

4. Manuel Pellegrini – €1.16 billion

Another slight surprise, but three years at Manchester City and a season at Real Madrid are bound to increase anyone's total spending.

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Indeed, the Chilean veteran was Real Madrid's manager in the summer of 2009, when the club broke the all-time transfer record twice in a week: first for Kaka from AC Milan and then for Ronaldo from Manchester United.

However, Pellegrini's top ten most expensive purchases include some slightly less illustrious names. While at West Ham, he spent £80 million to bring in Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson.

3. Carlo Ancelotti – €1.44 billion

Carlo Ancelotti has always spent a lot of money, but he has always delivered.

The veteran Italian coach has managed a superclub in each of Europe's top five leagues, and he is the first and only person to have won all five top-tier domestic titles. This is not to mention the four European Cups he has in his collection.

Ancelotti is the man to coach an expensively assembled squad full of superstars and big egos. Over the course of his long managerial career, the Italian has signed over 100 players, with Gareth Bale (€101 million) at the top of the list.

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2. Pep Guardiola – €1.61 billion

Another man who only operates at the stratospheric superclub level, Pep Guardiola's position in the top three was unavoidable, especially given the money he's spent to turn Manchester City into the ultimate footballing powerhouse.

Despite that consistent outlay, Guardiola's record fee for a single player remained the €69.5 million he paid for Ibrahimovic in the summer of 2009 until the £100 million signing of Jack Grealish 12 years later.

To date, Guardiola has spent €1.03 billion in transfers since he joined City from Bayern Munich in 2016, Goal reports.

1. Jose Mourinho – €1.71 billion

Jose Mourinho enjoys portraying himself as the perpetual underdog. However, this could not be further from the truth.

From his first stint as Chelsea manager, when he had Roman Abramovich's funds at his disposal, to his current stint at Roma, he has consistently spent a lot of money on players.

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However, all three of his top transfer fees, came during his three summers as Man United manager in 2016, 2017, and 2018, when he spent £94.5 million, £76.2 million, and £53.1 million on Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, and Fred respectively. Suffice it to say, they did not have the desired effect.

Overall, you can't argue with Mourinho's track record. Yes, he's spent a lot of money. But, like Ancelotti and Guardiola, he has delivered, amassing a total of 25 trophies, including two European Cups.

Perhaps in football management the adage rings true: one has to break some eggs to make an omelette and these managers certainly broke some expensive eggs.

Mourinho makes demand to Roma

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Mourinho being one of the best managers of his era and his ability to clarify his position to players and club bosses in the media.

In 2021, a few months after he was sacked by Tottenham, he made a shock move to become manager of the Italian club AS Roma, signing a three-year contract.

Mourinho has reportedly issued demands to management of his new club, demanding a new centre-back, a new midfielder, and a new striker to help his plans.