Spain boss fumes over his salary with Euro champion on little more than Lee Carsley | Football | Sport
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has fumed about his salary during a radio interview after failing to secure a pay rise since being promoted from under-21s boss at the start of last year. The coach guided his country to Euro 2024 success in the summer as they defeated England 2-1 in the final.
De la Fuente took on his current role after Spain had been dumped out of the 2022 World Cup at the last-16 stage under Luis Enrique.
And the 63-year-old has turned the team’s fortunes around, with Spain winning 19 of his 23 games at the helm ahead of Saturday’s Nations League clash with Denmark.
De la Fuente, who has also had stints in charge of Bilbao Athletic and Alaves, spoke about his employment terms during an interview on radio station Cadena SER.
And he explained: “It’s not normal for a European champion to be left without a contract. Nothing happens. That’s not okay, but that’s the way it is. I don’t know if this has ever happened in history.
“I have the same conditions as when I was promoted from the under-21s. It would have been fair if I had already signed the contract. But there was pressure from all sides on the people who have to make these kinds of decisions.”
But the veteran insisted his head would not be turned by offers elsewhere as he added: “I’m very satisfied as a coach. I want this problem to be solved as soon as possible.
“Participating in a World Cup with Spain is more important to me than any other offer. I’m proud to coach my country’s national team. I’m privileged.”
Despite a whole host of players and managers in elite football earning millions of pounds every season, De la Fuente is reportedly given just £500,000 per year as Spain boss. That figure is barely more than England interim manager Lee Carsley is paid by the Football Association.
Carsley, who has never managed a senior club or international side on a permanent basis, was reportedly earning £300,000 per year when he was in charge of the England-21s team. But he has already been handed a pay rise since stepping into his current position.
Former England boss Gareth Southgate, meanwhile, earned a salary of around £5million during his days in charge of the Three Lions side. He inked fresh terms in 2021 and was the second-highest paid manager in England’s history behind Fabio Capello, who earned approximately £6m per year.
Elsewhere, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is thought to make around £20m per season, while former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reportedly earned about £15m annually during his latter days at Anfield.
De la Fuente’s radio comments were brought up during his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash. But the manager shut down reporters as he hissed: “Please, so we don’t waste other questions later, I’m not going to talk about that. What’s important is tomorrow’s match.”
