The concept of managerial transfer fees is a modern phenomenon. Now, any club keen to acquire a manager under a contract will have to pay a premium.
Football will always be a game won and lost by the players, but managers and their drift towards personality cults mean those on the touchline are blossoming into stars themselves.
Higher-ups are all too willing to buy into ‘projects’ and ‘processes’ only to ditch the idealist at the first sign of strife. Patience is ever dwindling in contemporary times, rendering the exorbitant fees paid out to clubs to appoint their next idealist or pragmatist all the more laughable.
Chelsea started the trend with André Villas-Boas in 2011, and clubs have continued to dish out mammoth sums in the hope of attaining a managerial utopia.
Here are the ten most expensive managerial appointments of all time.
