Thirteen managers have won the Premier League title since the competition kicked off in 1992. But which of them truly stand apart? The debate is a proper one — because winning the league once is remarkable, yet the distance between those who did it and those who defined an era is vast.
Longevity Counts, But It Isn't Everything
Before getting to the top ten, it is worth pausing on what longevity actually tells us. David Moyes has managed 755 Premier League games — only Arsene Wenger (828) and Sir Alex Ferguson (810) have sat in an English top-flight dugout longer. That durability earns Moyes the third-most wins in Premier League history, though his 291 across spells at Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham sit well short of Wenger's 476 and Ferguson's extraordinary 528.
Pep Guardiola is already breathing down Moyes' neck despite having managed barely half as many matches. Harry Redknapp, meanwhile, logs the fourth-most games (641) and fifth-most wins (236), with a goals-scored tally of 818 that puts him in the top five on that count too.
Win percentage throws up a fascinating outlier: Mauricio Pochettino remains the only manager — among those with more than 100 Premier League games to their name — who never lifted the title yet still won more than half his matches. The Argentine guided Tottenham to their best-ever Premier League finish of second in 2016-17, and also had spells at Southampton and Chelsea. A compelling case, even without a medal.
The Three Left at the Door
To make any serious top-ten list, winning a title is effectively the entry requirement. Thirteen bosses have done it — meaning three miss out. Arne Slot is the first cut, his Liverpool triumph too recent to rank historically. Manuel Pellegrini, who averaged 1.92 goals per game across his spells at Manchester City and West Ham — fifth among all managers with a century of matches — also misses out after that difficult West Ham period undermined his legacy. Antonio Conte, for all his intensity and two title wins, had boom-and-bust spells at Chelsea and Tottenham that count against him.
The Top Ten: A Snapshot
The list opens with Carlo Ancelotti at ten. King Carlo won the Premier League at Chelsea at the first attempt in 2009-10, blitzing to the title before being dismissed after a runners-up finish the following season. A brief Everton stint added little before Real Madrid came calling. His record across Europe's top leagues — and five Champions League titles — keeps him on the list despite a fleeting English tenure.
Coming in at nine is Mikel Arteta, who earlier this season became the 13th manager to win the Premier League and the first Arsenal boss to do so since Wenger in 2004. The Spaniard ended an eight-year run of either City or Liverpool collecting the trophy, silencing those who suggested the Gunners were always destined to finish second. With Arsenal continuing to strengthen, Arteta looks well placed to climb further up this ranking in years to come.
Roberto Mancini sits eighth. His Manchester City title in 2011-12 remains one of the most dramatic in the competition's history — Sergio Aguero's 94th-minute winner on the final day, denying Manchester United, delivering City's first top-flight crown in more than four decades. Mancini's points-per-game tally ranks fourth among all managers with at least 100 Premier League games, sitting just above both Conte and Jose Mourinho.
The Summit
Above Mancini, the noises out of any serious ranking point in one direction: the top positions belong to the managers who won multiple titles and reshaped English football in the process. Ferguson, Guardiola, Wenger and Mourinho all sit in that rarefied bracket — with only four bosses having won more than one Premier League crown. Where exactly each one lands is the kind of argument that fills pub benches from August to May, and rightly so.
What is certain is that the Premier League has produced some of the finest managerial minds the game has seen. And with Arteta still in the dugout at Arsenal with a title to his name, the list is already ready to be rewritten.
Frequently asked
- Who has won the most Premier League titles as a manager?
- Sir Alex Ferguson has won the most Premier League titles as a manager, claiming the trophy 13 times during his time at Manchester United between 1992 and 2013.
- Which manager has the most Premier League wins overall?
- Sir Alex Ferguson holds the record for the most Premier League wins as a manager with 528 victories at Manchester United, ahead of Arsene Wenger's 476 at Arsenal.
- Has Mikel Arteta won the Premier League?
- Yes. Mikel Arteta won the Premier League title with Arsenal in the 2025-26 season, becoming the first Arsenal manager to lift the trophy since Arsene Wenger did so in 2003-04.