Spain's football coach earns less than a Supreme Court judge

The national coach's salary: is he paid what he's worth?

In Spain, the salary of the national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, is a mere 2 million euros a year. Compared with the just under 150,000 euros earned by judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court – the best-paid judges in the country – it reveals an anomaly that is hard to explain.

The debate over salaries in Spanish football

While the national coach earns 2 million, the two coaches who reached the final of the last European Championship were the lowest paid in the tournament. By contrast, figures like Ancelotti and Tuchel receive sums some describe as "obscene" – in the Italian's case, his salary far exceeds what Brazil would have offered him. The debate goes beyond football: some argue De la Fuente's salary is reasonable because he coaches far less than at a club; others reply that his performance and results do not match his pay.

A symptom of salary distortion

The available data point to an unbalanced income structure: senior members of the judiciary earn less than a national coach who, moreover, works for a private federation with multimillion-euro revenues. Although the Federation receives subsidies from the Ministry of Sports, it is argued that it generates 10,000 times its own economic impact. The open question is whether the talent and responsibility of leading the national team are properly valued in the Spanish market.

An anomaly worth reflecting on

While the debate over whether football is overvalued remains open, the fact is that in Spain talent is paid below its performance. We shall see whether results on the pitch change that equation, or whether the salary structure continues to be marked by the paradox of paying little to those who win a lot.