Being a soccer coach can be very well rewarding, but not everyone is making a ton of money coaching the beautiful game. To get to a point where a person is making considerable money, they need to have a lot of experience as a player or coach to begin with. There are only so many jobs out there in the world that pays well, and they are extremely competitive as well.
How much do soccer coaches make? Soccer coach pricing goes from volunteer work, all the way up to millions of dollars. The top clubs in the world are going to pay a lot of money, as well as the best countries competing for World Cups. Any professional coach, or high-level college coach, is generally treating it as a full-time job.
Volunteer Soccer Coaching
At the youth level, there are a lot of people who are putting in time and energy when it comes to coaching soccer. There is only so much money to go around, and most are coaching teams that have their child on them. When that is the case, they rarely take a salary. Even if they do, it is minimal at best.
Being a volunteer soccer coach can be very rewarding, but a person needs to have some other type of job to pay the bills. Maybe a volunteer coach will have a client or two that will help with paying the bills as well. For example, doing individual lessons and training can make some money, but a person who wants actual coaching experience and will do it for free.
Volunteer soccer coaching can go all the way up to the college ranks in the United States. The head coach is not a volunteer, but there are usually assistant coaches working for free. It might seem like a very tough job to handle, but there are so many people who will still give it a try as it gets them a foot in the door.
Amateur Level Coaching
Whether it is a very good traveling youth team, a high school team, or even a college team, amateur soccer coaching pay is not exactly the greatest. A lot of that has to do with money limitations, but the pay is becoming better and better as the sport grows in new areas. In particular, payment in the United States is shooting up for these scenarios.
College soccer coaches have received a pretty big pay increase these last few years. The game is becoming more popular than ever, and schools are starting to make a little bit of money in ticket sales to go with it. It’s still not a sport that is bringing in a ton of revenue, and schools don’t depend on it to make much money at all.
Even though some leagues might pay their players a small amount of money, semi-pro leagues are much closer to amateur status. Coaches are taking on a job because they want to stay involved in a game, move up to a better stop eventually, or because they have a family/friend connection to the team.
Professional Coaching
Professional leagues are all over the world in soccer, and that means there is a need for plenty of coaches. While most coaches will stay in their respective country, once it gets to a certain level, the top coaches will go anywhere to get a job.
The quality of the league is going to largely dictate how much money a person earns. It is also dependent on the team’s finances, where they hope to be soon, and other small factors.
For some basic examples, there is a big pay discrepancy between Major League Soccer in the United States and the Premier League in the United Kingdom. Teams, on average, have a huge budget in the United Kingdom, and the quality of players is much higher as well. Hiring someone to be in charge of those players requires the best of the best, and the only way to secure those coaches is to give them proper compensation.
Professional coaches treat every single job like a full-time responsibility. It can be extremely time-consuming, depending on how much the franchise puts on the coaching staff in general. Preparing tactics for each new team on the schedule is hard enough work. Working on game day management, handling different personalities, and so much more makes special coaches earn their pay.
Who Are The Highest-Paid Soccer Coaches In The World?
The best teams in the world are almost always investing a lot of money into their coaching staff. In particular, the head coach of any of the top teams can make a very sizable living. The highest-paid managers are always bringing in millions and millions of euros a year. This is the current list of the top five.
1. Diego Simeone – Atletico Madrid (€40.5 million)
Hailing from Argentina, Diego Simeone has been at his job since 2011. Not only has he been able to have success, but keeping a job for this amount of time means that he is compensated properly.
There is no doubt that the team is willing to spend money, but they have not had as much success that some would think after paying this much. The former player became a coach to stay around the league, and now he makes more money than some of the top players.
2. Antonio Conte – Inter (€30 million)
After moving from Chelsea to Inter Antonio Conte is the highest-paid coach in Italy. He has been able to find a bit of footing in Italy, and now he figures to be there for a considerable amount of time. As long as he can continue to win consistently, he should keep them as a force domestically and internationally.
The opportunity to win and win consistently is the main reason why the team brought him in in the first place. His track record shows that he makes the proper adjustments to take teams over an edge, and that is exactly what he brings to the table.
3. Pep Guardiola – Manchester City (€27 million)
The highest-paid coach in Manchester is not at Manchester United, but Manchester City. Pep Guardiola tops the list in the Premier League, as he is looking to have the type of success he had as a player now that he is taking on a different role.
Since joining Manchester City, he has not been able to win a big title just yet, but he is hoping that it is coming soon. The team is willing to spend, he is willing to make adjustments, and it seems like they could be on the verge sooner rather than later.
4. Jürgen Klopp – Liverpool (€24 million)
Many people believe that this is the top manager in the world right now. The German certainly shocked many people by leading Liverpool to their first Premier League title and Champions League victory in 2019. He has been able to demand a pretty sizable raise, and some people speculate that he could move at some point.
For now, Liverpool loves what he brings to the table. Klopp seems to lead the charge right now with a new wave of quality coaching at the highest level.
5. Zinedine Zidane – Real Madrid (€23 million)
Almost everyone remembers Zinedine Zidane as a standout player, but he is now turning into a very successful coach. At Real Madrid, he is hoping to make them the class of the Spanish League. He has some teams coming for him, but for €23 million, he seems to be very happy with where he stands right now.
Is this the final big stop for Zidane? No one knows that for sure. Some people question the amount of motivation for a former great player to be a great coach. If he continues to make an impact, his legend will only grow.
The Future of Soccer Coaching & Overall Earnings
Soccer is not fading away any time soon, so that means teams will go after the top coaches all the time. With demand comes higher and higher prices. The top teams will always pay, and those looking to climb will also seek out quality, young coaches willing to do what it takes.
