Uzbekistan head coach Fabio Cannavaro ranks among highest-paid managers at 2026 World Cup

The list is topped by Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose annual income stands at €10 million. Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann follows in second place with a salary of €7 million per year, while US national team manager Mauricio Pochettino takes third place at €6 million. England’s head coach, Thomas Tuchel, earns €5.8 million annually, placing fourth.

Cannavaro shares the fifth spot with Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez, with both managers reportedly earning €4 million. According to the publication, the Italian specialist outranks several prominent managers from leading football nations, including Didier Deschamps (France – €3.8 million), Ronald Koeman (Netherlands – €3 million), Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay – €3 million), Julen Lopetegui (Qatar – €2.4 million), Lionel Scaloni (Argentina – €2.3 million), and Luis de la Fuente (Spain – €2 million).

Reports concerning Cannavaro’s salary originally surfaced in October 2025 when Russian publication Sport-Express, citing its own sources, claimed the Italian specialist’s income could reach around €4 million when including the expenses of his entire coaching staff.

The Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) and Cannavaro himself have strongly denied these figures. Following the initial reports, UFA Vice-President Ravshan Irmatov addressed the speculation publicly, stating that the rumored amounts were highly exaggerated. Irmatov noted that the published figures do not even amount to "half of the half" of the actual contract value, adding that the association made a decision based strictly on its real resources and selected the most optimal variant.

Cannavaro has similarly dismissed the €4 million figure. The head coach emphasized that his primary motivation for taking the position in Uzbekistan was the unique sporting opportunity to lead a team to the World Cup.

Prior to his appointment with the Uzbekistan national team, Cannavaro managed Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, and Italian sides Benevento and Udinese. He also had a brief three-month stint coaching Dinamo Zagreb starting in April 2025. His most notable managerial achievement to date remains winning the Chinese Super League title with Guangzhou Evergrande in 2019.