Who are the best club managers in the world right now? It’s not as easy as simply picking the boss at the top of the league, is it?

When we sought out to pick the premier masterminds and motivators in the sport right now, we considered a few aspects. Trophy haul, naturally, but simply how well they’ve performed in comparison to the expectations laid out for them. History, record and prestige came into the equation, as did tactical ingenuity. Not all achievements are equal – but all deserve to be considered with nuance. 

Narrowing down the half-century of best bosses has been tricky enough – but putting them into some kind of ranked list was even more difficult. 

10. Diego Simeone

He entered your consciousness when he trapped David Beckham in a web of his own making. He’s played the supervillain ever since. The only man capable of taking down Real Madrid and Barcelona yet without the resources of either… and he’s still top 10. 

For longevity alone, it’s impressive what Simeone has achieved, especially coming up against the might of Barça and Real. But to not only have competed, but won, against them in two separate seasons is testament to the sublime management skills of Simeone. Players would undoubtedly run through brick walls for the Argentine. 

Every season it feels like this might be the one that Diego Simeone runs out of petrol. Star players have come and gone, but the determined culture in the squad is ever-present while Simeone remains. Though Atleti don’t strike the fear of god into rivals anymore, they play the numbers game, Simeone having morphed his once-indestructible 4-4-2 into a three-at-the-back iteration. 

El Cholo and Atleti is the perfect fit. The club is in his image, and unimaginable without him at the helm.

9. Unai Emery

Unai Emery has been one of the most remarkably consistent managers in world football over a decade, the Arsenal debacle aside. He won three Europa League titles at Sevilla, one at Villarreal and has consistently dragged midtable sides up the table with well-executed midblocks and devastating transitions.

At Villarreal, his success hinged on turning forgotten men of bigger sides into a unit stronger than just one star player: at Aston Villa, he has some of the most exciting players in the league supplemented in his squad.

Conference League glory is the aim – and Villa fans haven’t felt this positive for a generation.

8. Roberto De Zerbi

Arriving at Brighton in September 2022, many were questioning the Italian’s appointment. A largely unknown quantity, the 44-year-old seemed a choice completely out of left-field. Inevitably, the Seagulls were right once again.

Under De Zerbi, Brighton qualified for European football for the first time in their history, as they finished sixth in the Premier League in 2022/23. But it’s not just the results that makes De Zerbi so impressive, it’s his tactical courage that sets him apart from the rest. Brighton have been encouraged to deliberately invite pressure, drawing in the opposition before exploiting the space left behind. 

But don’t just take our word for it – Pep Guardiola has been hugely impressed.

“There is no team playing the way they play – it’s unique,” Guardiola said. “I had the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great – but I didn’t expect him to do it in this short space of time.

“He creates 20 or 25 chances per game, better by far than most opponents. He monopolises the ball in a way it hasn’t been for a long time. They deserve completely the success they have.”

7. Xavi

In three years at Barcelona, Xavi Hernandez has turned a crisis club into champions, re-instilled the style of football that the club aspires to and overseen the integration of a new generation primed to lead this club out of the dark. 

His big game game record is still questionable – with unheard-of back-to-back group stage exits in the Champions League, Clasico collapses and disappointing losses in the Europa – but as a young manager, he has the aura of authority and the tactical understanding that we all expected he’d have when we watched him slicing open defences with pinpoint precision.

Time will tell how his management career progresses: but if he wins half the trophies he did on the pitch, it’ll make him an all-time great.

6. Eddie Howe

Once the forgotten manager in English football, Eddie Howe has since announced himself as one of the best in his own right. Agreeing to become the boss at a Newcastle United side destined for relegation in 2021 seemed a strange choice – two years on, though, it’s proved anything but. The Magpies reached their first cup final in over 20 years when they faced Manchester United in the Carabao Cup last February, before qualifying for the Champions League with an exceptional fourth-placed finish. 

But that’s almost a disservice to Howe. Players such as Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff – heck, even Jacob Murphy – have all flourished under Howe’s guidance, and are all players who were at the club prior to his arrival. Changes to the squad’s mentality has resulted in a winning mindset, while their front-foot approach often blows teams away. The only way is up, and Eddie Howe has been a huge part of that. 

5. Thomas Tuchel

The Bayern Munich job has been tough for Thomas Tuchel – almost losing the title on the final day of the season – but the German still dines from the very top table when it comes to the club game. 

Over the years, Tuchel has shown all sides of his psyche; a rebel taking on the establishment at Borussia Dortmund, crossing that threshold at Paris Saint-Germain and attempting to keep peace in a warring dressing room. An exciting attack-minded tactician who later turned Chelsea into a watertight cruiseliner, his career is becoming one of reinvention. 

Now might see his biggest challenge yet: taking on the brave, new thinkerman in Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen, as the estabished man in Bavaria. Once more, he’s crossed the line from one era of his career to the next. The Thin White Duke of Bavaria can never be second-guessed: he’s ruthless, razor-sharp and it wouldn’t be wise to write him off at the Allianz just yet.

4. Mikel Arteta

Pep Guardiola didn’t know it, but he was slowly creating a monster. Working at Manchester City as assistant manager for three years, Arteta slowly learned what it took to reach the elite level. He loved it, and he’s since taken that desire and ran with it. 

It takes some courage to dismantle an Arsenal side in your first couple of seasons in charge. It takes even more courage to do so having just won an FA Cup trophy with a number of players you want to ship out. But that’s exactly what the Spaniard oversaw with the Gunners, and he hasn’t looked back. 

Implementing a devastating style of play with a youthfully exuberant squad has come with its costs – not least their failing to manage games better towards the tail end of the 2022/23 Premier League season – but many didn’t even expect Arsenal to make the top four, let alone challenge for the title. The squad is versatile, it’s physically imposing, it’s technically sublime. 

It’s been a managerial masterclass. Arteta’s philosophy is rock solid, his principles strong and the Gunners are beginning to reap the benefits.

3. Carlo Ancelotti

Such is his lack of ego, Carlo Ancelotti seemingly waltzes into clubs with the best players in the world assembled and asks them how they want to play. The eternal Italian is a by-word for man-management, reshaping his principles depending on the mood in the room – and at 64, he’s showing no signs of losing his touch.

Don Carlo is all about the team: he will do what needs to be done to get the best from the collective and ensures the group are content. But his knack for improving individuals is, by now, legendary. Pirlo, Kaka, Lampard, Bale, James, Vinicius, Benzema and now Bellingham, have all ascended to superstar status under the gaze of his perma-raised eyebrow.

He will go down as one of the greatest of all time – and perhaps the most beloved manager by dressing room vote.

2. Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool’s notorious heavy metal football under Klopp has become slightly more refined and measured in recent seasons, but no less effective. 

While 2022/23 quickly became a season to forget, the consistent challenge against Manchester City has largely been down to Klopp’s ability to motivate his squad, finding innovative ways to get the best out of Mohamed Salah while developing the talents of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai. Formulating a system to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold more time on the ball has proved a masterstroke, too, while ensuring each member of the squad stays happy and hungry is arguably his greatest asset. 

Indeed, do as the German boss wants and you’ll be rewarded with a bear hug of insurmountable proportions – as many in the Liverpool squad will testify. His faith in his players’ abilities is unwavering, while his trust in the team cannot be downplayed. The Reds will face a real issue when he eventually decides to depart Anfield.

1. Pep Guardiola

Who else? 

When Pep Guardiola first arrived on the scene, he was doubted by some; an underdog picked ahead of Jose Mourinho for the biggest job in Catalonia, armed not with experience but philosophy. One of his first big decisions at Camp Nou was to go to war with a board who didn’t want a young Lionel Messi to go to the Olympic Games. Pep argued for the good it did him at Barcelona ’92 – and sent the Flea to Beijing against his bosses’ wishes.

Some 15 years later, no one questions with him: football’s heartbeat is in time with Josep Guardiola’s. The world plays this game in the Catalan’s image, aiming to replicate the Juego de Pocision he brought to modern football and subsequently reinvented time and again. But it’s not just the trophies he’s won, the dominance or the thrilling style of play that still makes him the best: it’s that he continues to rework his sides, take principles of old and make them new and unbeatable. 

It’s in the recruitment, which has rarely misstepped, as Manchester City churn out superstar after superstar. It’s in the big-game galaxy brain moments in which he seems able to out-think his opponent. He is always one, two, three steps ahead. He sees football differently to anyone: the Sherlock Holmes of the dugout, spotting devils in details.

He never ages, he never waivers – and he’s always right. Messi won gold in 2008, of course. Football, quite simply, belongs to him.