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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The largest widely reported single managerial exit cost in the available public accounts is £26.6 million, linked to Antonio Conte’s 2018 departure from Chelsea. It is not established as a personal cheque to Conte: Chelsea described the accounting item as covering changes to men’s-team management and coaching staff, plus associated legal costs. The figures below are therefore reported payouts or exit costs—not a definitive ledger of what each manager personally received.
How to read the reported figures
Football clubs rarely publish a manager’s settlement agreement. Public figures may refer to the manager alone, compensation for a manager and staff, remaining contract pay, legal costs, or a broader accounting charge. Those measures are not interchangeable.
The list ranks 11 notable, high-value reported cases by the amounts attached to them in the cited reporting. It is not a globally audited top 11: the evidence and definitions vary, and some entries are estimates from secondary rankings. Amounts are kept in their reported currencies rather than converted into a false precision.
The 11 biggest reported manager payouts and exit costs
| Rank | Manager and club | Reported amount | What the reporting supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Conte, Chelsea (2018) | £26.6m | Recorded by Chelsea as an exceptional item for management and coaching changes and associated legal costs; widely linked to Conte’s exit, but not verified as his personal payout. |
| 2 | José Mourinho, Chelsea (2007) | £23.1m | Sky Sports reported this figure from Chelsea’s accounts for Mourinho and staff. A later ranking gives £18m, so the amount and scope are disputed across reports. |
| 3 | José Mourinho, Manchester United (2018) | £19.6m | United’s half-yearly accounts described compensation for Mourinho and certain coaching staff for loss of office. |
| 4 | Arsène Wenger, Arsenal (2018) | £17.1m | Reported as payment in full for Wenger’s final contract year, covering him and staff. |
| 5 | Laurent Blanc, Paris Saint-Germain (2016) | €22m (£17m, as reported) | The Independent relayed L’Équipe’s report, citing unnamed sources. This is secondary reporting, not a disclosed personal receipt. |
| 6 | José Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur (2021) | £15m–£16m | Secondary reports differ: Sporting News gives £16m, while Total Football Analysis gives £15m–£16m. |
| 7 | Nuno Espírito Santo, Tottenham Hotspur (2021) | £14m | Reported in a secondary ranking; the settlement terms were not independently disclosed in the cited evidence. |
| 8 | Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea (2009) | £13.6m | Reported in a secondary ranking; the cited evidence does not independently verify the settlement. |
| 9 | Fabio Capello, Russia (2015) | £13.4m | Reported in a secondary ranking; the cited evidence does not independently verify the settlement. |
| 10 | Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea (2022) | £13m | Reported in secondary rankings; the cited evidence does not establish a club-confirmed personal payment. |
| 11 | Graham Potter, Chelsea (2023) | About £13m | Reported as a settlement; Sporting News says it was about a quarter of a potential £50m full-contract figure. The £50m is a possible contract value, not the reported settlement. |
What the strongest documented cases show
Conte at Chelsea: the largest reported club cost
Sky Sports, reporting Chelsea’s accounts for the year ending 30 June 2019, quoted the club’s description of a £26.6m exceptional item as relating to changes in men’s-team management and coaching staff, together with associated legal costs: Chelsea accounts: club made £96.5m loss in 2018-19. That makes £26.6m a strong figure for the club’s recorded exit-related cost, but not a clean measure of Conte’s personal severance.
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Mourinho at Manchester United: accounts name the staff-inclusive compensation
The Guardian reported that United’s half-yearly accounts included £19.6m in compensation for the former manager and certain coaching staff for loss of office: Manchester United accounts reveal £19.6m Mourinho pay-off. The disclosure is unusually clear about the category of recipients, even though it does not break down the individual amounts.
Mourinho at Chelsea: one exit, conflicting totals
Sky Sports reported £23.1m for Mourinho and staff in connection with Chelsea’s 2007 departure, based on the club’s 2015/16 accounts: Chelsea spent £23.1m on Jose Mourinho and staff in 2007. Sporting News instead lists £18m for that Chelsea exit. The available reporting does not settle whether this reflects different accounting scope or another discrepancy, so neither figure should be presented as an uncontested personal payout.
Why the ranking is not definitive
- The accounting unit changes. Chelsea’s Conte figure includes staff changes and legal costs; United’s Mourinho amount covers the manager and certain staff. Other reports may count remaining contract compensation or a settlement without spelling out the components.
- Evidence quality varies. Published accounts reported by established outlets provide firmer support for a recorded club cost than unnamed-source reporting or a secondary ranking. Even accounts do not necessarily reveal what one individual received.
- Lists disagree. Sporting News and other rankings differ on amounts and entries. The figures above retain those caveats rather than combining incompatible totals.
- More recent claims can be provisional. JOE’s April 2026 ranking attributed a possible £24m Chelsea payout for Liam Rosenior to The Sun, while noting contract details are not public. It is excluded from the ranked list because the amount is presented as possible, not verified as paid: The biggest managerial payoffs in football history.
Departures do not always reveal the settlement
A club announcement can establish that a manager has left without disclosing compensation. Tottenham’s March 2023 notice said Conte departed by mutual consent but gave no settlement sum: Tottenham Hotspur: Club announcement, Antonio Conte. The £4m figure reported elsewhere is therefore a media claim, not a club-confirmed amount.
Career totals are another separate measure. GOAL reported a third-party estimate of £82m in cumulative Mourinho severance across several exits; that is neither an audited total nor a single-departure payout: Jose Mourinho’s sacked career severance packages revealed.
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