Along with the high salaries Premier League football managers and F1 team principals earn, comes a huge responsibility to manage the team successfully and ultimately achieve results.
Sports managers face an incredible amount of pressure, and an uncertain future should their team fail to perform well.
We look at the four highest salaries earned by both Premier League football managers and F1 team principals, to find out who is getting paid the most and who is the ultimate highest earner of them all.
8. Frederic Vasseur: Estimated salary £5 million
Frederic Vasseur is a French motorsport veteran and the new team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, replacing Mattia Binotto for the 2023 season.
Leaving his previous roles as CEO and team principal at the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo F1 team, Vassuer has taken on his dream role working for one of the richest and most historic brands in the world.
With a reported net worth of £3 million prior to joining Ferrari, Vassuer has taken a massive pay rise this season, which is no surprise considering his experience and skills, and the fact he is working for a team with some of the largest resources on the F1 grid!
7. Andrea Stella: Estimated salary £5.2 million
Newly appointed for the 2023 season, Andrea Stella has taken over as team principal at McLaren following the departure of Andreas Seidl in 2022.
Previously racing director for the team, the Italian is well respected throughout F1 having been involved with the sport since 2000. With an existing net worth of £1.2 million, his lucrative £5.2 million-a-year role at McLaren will likely see a healthy boost to his earnings.
Stella’s new salary is a true indication of his value at McLaren and he continues to work impressively during the current 2023 season.
6. Toto Wolff: Estimated salary £7.14 million
Second highest paid team principal on the Formula 1 grid is Toto Wolff who has an estimated annual salary of $9 million along with an incredible net worth of $1 billion, having been named one of Forbes’ sporting billionaires earlier in 2023.
Wolff is currently the team principal of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and has been in his role since 2013, leading the team to eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship victories.
Wolff is also one-third owner of the Mercedes F1 team – that stake in itself now believed to be worth more than $500m – making him entitled to performance bonuses if the team succeeds on track – for every podium a Mercedes driver achieves, Wolff will receive a whopping reported $200,000 bonus!
5. Christian Horner: Estimated salary £8 million
The highest-paid team principal currently in Formula 1 is Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner, who is paid an estimated annual salary of $10 million per year, though this could have increased even further for 2023 after Helmut Marko admitted the team had to fork out a few extra million to keep Ferrari at bay when they came sniffing for his signature last year.
Additionally, Horner has a reported net worth of $50 million which he has earned during his long career working in Formula 1. Despite being the team principal of Red Bull Racing, unlike Wolff, Horner does not have an ownership stake in the company.
Horner has worked for Red Bull as team principal since they entered the sport back in 2005 and has brought title-winning success to the team over the years, with Max Verstappen chalking up the team’s 100th race victory in Canada in June 2023.
4. Mikel Arteta: Estimated salary £9.5 million
There was a mixed reaction to Mikel Arteta getting his deal as manager of Arsenal extended until the end of the 2024/2025 season last year, but in this latest season he has continued to prove his worth with Arsenal coming second in the Premier League behind Manchester City at the end of the 2023 season, with their flying start fading in the second half of the campaign.
We anticipate the Spaniard has high hopes for next season, with the Gunners back in the top spots of the Premier League and European football once again.
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3. Erik ten Hag: Estimated salary £10 million
Since Sir Alex Ferguson famously retired from Manchester United in 2013 after almost 27 years as manager for the club, no fewer than eight people have attempted to fill his boots at Old Trafford.
Over the years, the club’s owners have spent tens of millions trying to find the right manager to replace Ferguson and continue his legacy, and some fans would argue he remains irreplaceable!
Erik ten Hag was appointed in April 2022 in a bid to lead the team back to its former glory, and his salary appears to be money well spent so far with Manchester United finishing third in the league, bagging a reported £152 million for the club in prize money and sponsor-related income.
2. Jurgen Klopp: Estimated salary £15 million
Jurgen Klopp has reportedly earned himself a £15 million salary this season with a £1.5 million bonus package.
Since his appointment in 2015 as manager of Liverpool FC, Klopp has brought much success to the team, guiding the club to the UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2022 and winning the trophy in 2019 to secure Liverpool’s sixth title in the competition, as well as ending the Reds’ 30-year wait for league success.
Negotiating an initial three-year contract worth £5 million a year, Klopp has since managed to bag a more lucrative deal and remains the longest-serving active Premier League manager as of the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
1. Pep Guardiola: Estimated salary £20 million
Top of the list with a huge salary of £20 million is Pep Guardiola who is currently the manager for Manchester City FC and one of the longest-serving Premier League football managers, claiming no fewer than five Premier League titles.
With Guardiola signing a new contract with Manchester City in November 2022, the Spaniard has since guided the club to the most successful season in their history – beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final to complete the Treble.
Under Guardiola’s management, Manchester City are only the second English men’s side to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season after Manchester United in 1999.
