The definition of what a football manager is may have changed over the years, but they are arguably still the most important person at a club as it remains their job to 'manage' the players, oversee training and pick the team, with responsibility for results, good or bad, at their door.
Here's a look at the 11 highest paid managers (using annual salary) in European club football right now...
Maurizio Sarri - £5m
When Chelsea finally secured a deal to hire ex-Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri last summer it was on a contract estimated to be worth £5m in wages each season.
Bizarrely, Sarri has been under pressure virtually ever since arriving and remains so. That is despite securing a return to the Champions League and reaching two cup finals.
Source: Evening Standard
Carlo Ancelotti - £5.3m/€6m
Sarri is marginally out-earned by the man who replaced him at Napoli, former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is thought to have agreed a contract worth €6m per season last summer.
The Italian has at least kept Napoli steady in Serie A, securing a comfortable second place finish to ensure Champions League qualification, albeit on fewer points than under Sarri last season.
Source: The Guardian
Unai Emery - £6m
Arsenal manager Unai Emery was reported to have signed a contract worth £6m per season when he agreed to take over from long-serving boss Arsene Wenger in May 2018.
So far, the Spaniard has overseen an improvement. The Gunners still finished outside the top four in 2018/19 but were seven points better off than a year ago and reached a European final.
Source: Daily Mirror
Manuel Pellegrini - £7m
West Ham made a real statement when they brought former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini back to the Premier League last summer on a contract paying up to £7m annually.
It was a somewhat mixed debut campaign for the Chilean in London, with the Hammers flirting with relegation to begin and eventually clawing their way into the top half to finish the season.
Source: Daily Telegraph
Jurgen Klopp - £7m
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is estimated to earn at least £7m per season at Anfield, having arrived at the club in the autumn of 2015 to take over from Brendan Rodgers.
That money doesn't make him anything like the best-paid manager in the Premier League, but it is believed to be close to double the salary he was taking home at old club Borussia Dortmund.
Source: Goal
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - £7.5m
Manchester United are thought to be paying Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just half the salary that predecessor Jose Mourinho was earning at Old Trafford, although £7.5m still marks a vast increase on the £400,000 the Norwegian is said to have been on at Molde last year.
The question now is whether Solskjaer can prove he is worth the faith by whipping an underperforming United squad into shape in time for next season.
Source: Daily Mirror
Mauricio Pochettino - £8.5m
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino signed a new contract worth £8.5m per season at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, committing his future to Spurs until 2023.
The Argentine has proven to be worth every penny in the first season of that bumper new deal, guiding Tottenham to a first-ever European Cup/Champions League final.
Source: Daily Telegraph
Zinedine Zidane - £10.5m/€12m
Zinedine Zidane walked back into the Real Madrid job in March and pocketed a hefty pay rise on the €7.5m plus bonuses he was reported to be earning during his first spell as Bernabeu coach.
This time around the four-time Champions League winner (three as a coach, one as a player) is said to be earning a net salary of €12m in the Spanish capital.
Source: El Confidencial
Pep Guardiola - £15.2m
It was not clear last year whether Pep Guardiola's contract extension came with a pay rise, but the Manchester City boss is the best-paid manager in the Premier League on at least £15m nonetheless.
The latest gossip
Source: Daily Telegraph
Ernesto Valverde - £20.2m/€23m
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has so far enjoyed a monopoly in La Liga after winning the Spanish title in each of his first two seasons at Camp Nou, although he has fallen short in Europe.
The 55-year-old only had a contract until the end of this season until relatively recently, but he extended it in February until the summer of 2020, with the option of a further year.
Source: France Football
Diego Simeone - £35.9m/€41m
The latest contract Diego Simeone signed at Atletico Madrid was reported to have put him on a salary around that of star player Antoine Griezmann.
Having spent three years with the club as a player, the Argentine returned to the club as coach in 2011 and has crammed a lot in, wining two Europa Leagues, the Copa del Rey, La Liga and reached two Champions League finals during that time.
Source: France Football
Source : 90min