2026 World Cup manager salaries: Luis de la Fuente wins on €2m as Carlo Ancelotti falls short on €10m

Luis de la Fuente led Spain to victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the tournament’s 15th-highest-paid manager. The Royal Spanish Football Federation -RFEF- pays him an estimated annual salary of around €2 million. Ancelotti, the highest-paid coach at the tournament, earns close to €10 million and saw Brazil eliminated by Norway in the last 16.

The outcome places two models side by side. Brazil recruited the most decorated coach in club football and offered him five times De la Fuente’s salary. Spain retained a manager who had spent more than a decade developing within the federation’s structure. Ancelotti arrived with the explicit task of securing a sixth star; De la Fuente ultimately delivered Spain’s second.

The figures are estimates published before the World Cup by outlets including ‘The Mirror’ and ‘Salary Leaks’, and subsequently reported by ‘AS’. Ancelotti’s annual contract has been valued at approximately €10 million, with an additional €5 million bonus if Brazil won the tournament. FIFA does not publish an official record of the salaries paid to the 48 national team managers.

Salaries, objectives and final outcomes

The objectives column summarises each team’s public ambition before the competition and the minimum result that could reasonably be considered satisfactory based on its squad, history and status as a host or debutant.

The official results left Spain as champions, Argentina as runners-up, England in third place and France fourth. Brazil, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Paraguay and Canada exited in the last 16; Germany and the Netherlands went out in the last 32; and Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Qatar were eliminated in the group stage.

The three highest-paid managers failed to reach the quarter-finals

Ancelotti, Nagelsmann and Pochettino earned an estimated combined annual salary of €23 million. None reached the quarter-finals. Brazil had appointed Ancelotti to win the tournament, an objective the Italian stated plainly during the competition: “The objective is to win.” His team defeated Japan in the last 32 but lost 2-1 to Norway in the following round. The World Cup’s most expensive project ended before reaching the final eight.

Germany suffered an even earlier failure. Nagelsmann had publicly identified the title as the objective as early as September 2025. Paraguay eliminated his team in the opening knockout round following a draw and a penalty shootout. An annual salary of €7 million accompanied Germany’s third consecutive early World Cup exit.

The United States made Pochettino the highest-paid manager in its history in an attempt to use a home World Cup as a platform for international progress. His team won its group and defeated Bosnia in the last 32, but Belgium secured a 4-1 victory in the following round. The hosts improved on their recent World Cup performances but remained well short of a semi-final and the impact expected from a €6 million annual investment.

Tuchel and Deschamps reached the closing stages

Tuchel partly justified his salary by taking England to third place, its best World Cup finish since 1966. The Football Association had appointed him to reach the final and win the tournament. Argentina came from behind in the semi-final to end England’s title bid, although victory over France in the subsequent play-off allowed the team to finish with a bronze medal.

France also lived up to its status as a contender until the final week. Spain defeated Deschamps’ team 2-0 in the semi-final before France lost the third-place play-off. The squad had travelled to North America seeking the country’s third World Cup.

Martínez and Koeman finished clearly below their stated objectives. Portugal lost to Spain in the last 16 after arriving with one of the tournament’s deepest squads and the momentum of winning the UEFA Nations League in 2025. The Netherlands exited one round earlier after losing a penalty shootout against Morocco.

Four million euros for a group-stage exit

Cannavaro’s case produced the largest imbalance between investment and outcome. Uzbekistan reportedly paid him around €4 million, the same amount Portugal committed to Martínez. The Italian inherited a team that had already secured its first World Cup qualification under Timur Kapadze.

The Uzbek federation sought international experience to help the team compete more effectively at the tournament. Uzbekistan lost to Colombia, conceded five goals against Portugal and were also beaten by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cannavaro ended the group stage with three defeats and nine goals conceded. Qatar followed a similar path under Lopetegui, collecting one point, losing 6-0 to Canada and finishing bottom of its group. His €2.4 million salary exceeded those of both managers who subsequently contested the final.

Scaloni and De la Fuente, the ‘lower-paid’ final

Scaloni and De la Fuente ranked 14th and 15th among the tournament’s highest-paid managers. Their combined salaries amounted to €4.3 million, less than half the sum Brazil paid Ancelotti. Scaloni guided Argentina to a second consecutive final and finished one goal short of retaining the title. De la Fuente completed the job as Spain eliminated Portugal, Belgium, France and Argentina to become world champions.

The World Cup rewarded two managers who developed within their respective federations. Scaloni took charge with limited experience as a head coach and constructed Argentina’s most successful cycle in decades. De la Fuente progressed through Spain’s youth teams, already knew many of his players and retained a playing identity shared across the national structure.

The tournament’s most expensive manager earned five times more than the champion. The three highest-paid coaches were all eliminated before the quarter-finals. Money secured managers with five Champions League titles, experience at leading clubs and international prestige. The trophy ultimately went to the coach with the deepest understanding of his country’s football.