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The staggering amount Florentino Perez has paid for Real Madrid managers over the years
Few presidents in football history have influenced a club’s identity quite like Florentino Perez has at Real Madrid.
The Real Madrid president is often associated with blockbuster signings, Galactico eras and ambitious infrastructure projects, but another aspect of his legacy has developed over the last two decades: his willingness to invest heavily in managers.
According to AS, Florentino Perez has spent over €75 million on coaches during his two spells in charge of the club.
The figure includes release clauses paid to previous employers, compensation packages, severance payments and settlements.
In total, as many as 15 managers have worked under Perez, with some returning for second spells, creating a managerial timeline that mirrors the highs and lows of modern Real Madrid history.
Real Madrid managers under Florentino Perez
When Florentino Perez first arrived at Real Madrid in 2000, Vicente del Bosque was already in charge.
Unlike many of the names that followed, Del Bosque left without costing the club anything in severance payments, as his contract simply expired and was not renewed.
Carlos Queiroz was the first managerial appointment of the Perez era. Recruited from Manchester United, the Portuguese coach was handed a two-year deal but lasted only one season.
Real Madrid still had to pay him approximately €1.35 million for the remaining year of his contract.
The instability continued, as the next Real Madrid manager, Jose Antonio Camacho, resigned after only a handful of matches during the 2004-05 season and received close to €900,000 in compensation.
Mariano Garcia Remon, who was Camacho’s assistant, then took charge before being dismissed a few months later, costing Madrid another €227,500.
Determined to find a fresh direction, Florentino appointed Vanderlei Luxemburgo, making him the first Brazilian manager in Real Madrid history.
The experiment ultimately failed, as Luxemburgo departed in December 2005 but later pursued legal action to claim the remainder of his contract. A court ruled in his favour, and Madrid were ordered to pay him €1.8 million.
Juan Ramon Lopez-Caro followed, but his tenure coincided with Florentino Perez’s resignation in 2006, meaning compensation was not required.
New era of managers under Perez
Florentino returned to power in 2009 and immediately began another rebuild.
His first choice was Manuel Pellegrini, who arrived from Villarreal after Real Madrid paid €4 million to release him from his contract.
However, the Chilean lasted only one season and left with a severance package worth €2.6 million.
The real turning point came in 2010 when Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid changed the club’s direction completely.
Fresh from winning the treble with Inter Milan, Mourinho arrived in Madrid carrying a reputation as one of football’s elite tacticians.
Reports from Italy suggested Real Madrid paid as much as €16 million to secure his services, although official figures have always remained a topic of debate.
Eventually, Mourinho departed in 2013 and Florentino later described it as a mutual agreement, ensuring no severance package had to be paid.
His replacement was another established winner, with Carlo Ancelotti arriving at Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, who were paid €4.5 million to release the Italian coach.
Ancelotti guided Madrid to the long-awaited La Decima but left in 2015 after failing to secure major silverware in his second season. His departure reportedly cost the club around €3.7 million.
Rafa Benitez was next, but his time at the Santiago Bernabeu lasted only a few months before Florentino made another bold call.
Benitez’s dismissal added another €4 million to the club’s managerial expenses, and the answer eventually came from within.
Zinedine Zidane stepped up from Castilla and transformed Real Madrid’s fortunes almost immediately.
Three consecutive Champions League triumphs elevated Zidane into legendary status. Yet despite his immense success, his relationship with the club hierarchy eventually deteriorated.
After leaving in 2018, reports suggested the Frenchman waived compensation worth almost €20 million.
When he returned in 2019 and departed again in 2021, Zidane once more relinquished a significant sum, reportedly around €12 million.
His decisions arguably saved Real Madrid more money than any other coach in Florentino’s presidency.
A list that follows
A certain Julen Lopetegui arrived in 2018 amid controversy following his departure from the Spanish national team, but his stay in Madrid was brief.
Having signed a lucrative three-year contract, he reportedly received around €3 million in compensation after his dismissal.
Santiago Solari followed before eventually moving on from the club.
Then came Ancelotti’s second spell. This time, Real Madrid paid Everton €5 million to bring the Italian back to Spain.
Given his reported gross salary of €11 million annually, his departure also carried an estimated severance cost of €5.5 million.
Florentino then looked toward a new generation. Xabi Alonso returned to Madrid after an impressive period with Bayer Leverkusen.
Reports indicate Real Madrid paid approximately €12 million to secure his services. His exit later added another €8 million to the overall managerial bill.
Alvaro Arbeloa was another internal appointment, arriving from Castilla.
Although his contract was significantly smaller than those of his predecessors, estimates suggest his departure could still amount to around €4 million.
Now the story has come full circle. Mourinho is back.
Real Madrid paid Benfica €15 million to trigger his release clause and bring the Portuguese manager back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
From Del Bosque to Mourinho, from Zidane to Ancelotti, Real Madrid managerial history under Florentino Perez has been defined by ambition, bold decisions and a willingness to spend whatever is necessary in pursuit of glory.
Whether Mourinho’s second spell becomes another success story or another costly chapter remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Florentino Perez has never been afraid to invest in the dugout if he believes it can keep Real Madrid at the pinnacle of world football.
Real Madrid will lock horns with Elche CF away at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight in Matchday 6 of the 2026/27 La Liga season.
The Merengues are currently second in the league standings with four wins and one defeat from five games, three points behind Barcelona, who are yet to drop a single point this term, and have looked unstoppable.
Given the situation, Real Madrid know there is no room for slip-up, even though it is still very early in the season.
Jose Mourinho’s men have not been particularly convincing away from home this term, having just about managed to beat RCD Espanyol in their opening match before falling to their only defeat of the campaign against Real Betis.
The hope will be to address that issue and put in a strong performance while collecting all three points heading into the derby against Atletico Madrid later in the week.
Going into the match, Los Blancos have not received any new fitness boosts, with Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes, and Ferland Mendy still unavailable.
However, there will likely be some rotations with an eye on the derby, and here’s how Mourinho could set his team up against Elche tonight.
Defence
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had to share minutes with summer signing Denzel Dumfries so far this season, but will be hoping to make the right-back spot his own with a convincing performance tonight against Elche.
Meanwhile, on the left, Alvaro Carreras is expected to retain his place after a brilliant display at the weekend against Rayo Vallecano, which would also allow Marc Cucurella to be protected before the derby.
At centre-back, Dean Huijsen is expected to return to the starting lineup, at the expense of Antonio Rudiger, and partner with Ibrahima Konate.
Thibaut Courtois is the undisputed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will continue his search for a second clean sheet this season.
Midfield
While Aurelien Tchouameni has returned from his injury layoff, he is unlikely to be rushed back by Mourinho. As such, the Frenchman is likely to feature off the bench once again tonight at Elche.
Instead, the double pivot pairing of Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva is expected to take the field once again, with Eduardo Camavinga also having to settle for a spot among the substitutes.
Jude Bellingham has started all of Real Madrid’s matches so far this season and given his form and importance to the team, Mourinho will not rotate him tonight against Elche.
Attack
Yan Diomande made his first start at Real Madrid last weekend against Rayo Vallecano but failed to make the best impression.
Meanwhile, Arda Guler was once again brilliant for Los Blancos after coming on as a substitute, making a strong case for him to be reinstated to the starting XI on the right wing.
As for the left side of the attack, Vinicius Jr. will retain his place, hoping to find his best form after a rather slow start to the campaign.
Kylian Mbappe, who has now scored six goals in La Liga this season, will spearhead the attack, hoping to end his run of seven months without scoring away from home in the league.
