Al Ettifaq's Steven Gerrard becomes fourth 'highest paid manager' in the world

The former Aston Villa manager will earn £15.2 million per year at the Saudi Pro League club

Liverpool legend and Al Ettifaq's manager Steven Gerrard becomes the fourth highest paid manager in the world. The 43-year-old will earn £15.2 million a year as the manager of the Saudi Pro League club.

The former Rangers and Aston Villa manager joined the Saudi Arabia club this month.

Steven Gerrard sits behind current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The German manager earns a salary of £16 million.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone is the highest paid manager in the world. The Argentine earns £30 million a year for managing the Spanish side.

Manchester City's Pep Guardiola is behind the Argentine in second place. The Spanish manager earns £20 million a year.

It was earlier reported that Gerrard had rejected a deal to become Al Ettifaq's manager. Later on, he decided to accept this offer and become the fourth highest paid manager in the world.

Gerrard is hoping to persuade former Anfield team-mate Jordan Henderson to join him on a £700,000-a-week deal.

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha is another player in Gerrard’s sights. Zaha has yet to be convinced about the move to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Ettifaq are based in Dammam, the country’s fourth biggest city.

Speaking after being confirmed as the club's new boss, Gerrard said: "I think there were a lot of reasons for me wanting to join the club. I think the club has a lot of good people that represent the club, from the board down.

"When I went over to Saudi I got a real family feel. They made me feel extremely welcome.

"There's three things that I always consider and in no particular order, it needs to be right for my family first and foremost. We have to be excited and motivated by the challenge.

"I think the football project needs to be ambitious. It needs to be for the right reasons in terms of the challenge and the remit.

"Of course, you need to feel secure, that the contract's right. That always comes at the end.

"It was a combination of reasons and I'm extremely excited. I'm happy, I can't wait to start and I can't wait to meet all the supporters, I can't wait to meet all the players.

"But the people that I have met so far that represent Al-Ettifaq have been absolutely outstanding and I think we share a lot of things in common."

Steven Gerrard also delivered a message to the club's fans, outlining his ambition to "work tirelessly".

"I think my message to the supporters is that I'm really happy, I'm really excited.

"I'm a manager that is very ambitious, that likes to work tirelessly to make sure that the team is very competitive.

"I'm looking forward to meeting the supporters, so are my staff and if we're all united, we're all together and we all stay aligned, I'm sure we can achieve our goals together."