Steven Gerrard has become one of the highest paid managers in world football after sealing a move to Saudi Arabia.
The former Rangers manager bided his time after being sacked by Aston Villa in October after a poor run of form last year before returning to the dugout for only his third full stint as a manager. Gerrard upped sticks from Glasgow to rebuild at Villa Park but fell short before the lure of the Saudi Pro League was too much to turn down as he joined Al-Ettifaq last week.
It's an eye-watering amount of money for the Liverpool hero in his new role, something Celtic fans resigned themselves to when star man Jota left for Al-Ittihad this month as the Scottish champions banked around £25million for the 24-year-old. But where Gerrard now ranks in world football has proven the motive behind major stars such as Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and N'Golo Kante making the move to the Middle East.
According to Sporting News, Gerrard has penned a contract worth a whopping £8.1 million-per-year, significantly higher than his Aston Villa purse of £5million, which was the club's highest ever wage for a boss. The ex-Ibrox gaffer now weighs in for the top ten best-paid managers across the globe.
He joins an exclusive club with the likes of Jose Mourinho at Roma, with the Special One turning down a scorching £26 million-per-year contract offer from Al-Hilal according to reports. Meanwhile Manchester City's Pep Guardiola weighs in at number two with a wage of £379,000-per-week with his deal at the Etihad running until 2025.
The likes of city rival Erik Ten Hag also makes the top ten on £173,000-per-week, as per the Sun, while Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp is said to earn £302,000-per-week and will be at Anfield until at least 2026 after signing a lucrative new deal last year. The highest by some distance, however, is Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid as 'El Cholo' sits on a £574,000-per-week contract in Madrid.
And while Gerrard has joined the mega-bucks club, the forecast for how his spell in Saudi might go isn't as bright as the 43-year-old may have hoped. According to SportsLens, he is the short odds of 7/4 to be sacked during the upcoming season. The chance of a league title triumph like the one he achieved at Rangers also looks out of the question with a healthy 20/1 placed on him to win the Pro League. To be relegated, a scenario the boss cannot afford, is 16/1. Al-Ettifaq finished last season in seventh place but haven't won a trophy since 2006.
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