The 10 longest-serving Premier League managers

Pep Guardiola’s new two-year extension at Manchester City is set to take him to a decade at the club.

The Spaniard is already one of the most successful managers that the Premier League has ever seen, with his six top-flight trophies (including an unprecedented fourth on the trot) the second-most of any manager since the division took shape in 1992.

Now having penned a deal that will see him remain at the Etihad until at least 2027 despite his side losing their last four games across all competitions, it is a show of continued faith between owner and manager.

Guardiola is, unsurprisingly, the most successful manager in City’s history, and lays claim to records across the globe thanks to his managerial prowess at Barcelona and Bayern Munich before taking up post in Manchester.

And now, with his time at the Etihad seemingly carrying on every time it appears close to an end, he is creeping up the list of the longest-serving managers in Premier League history. Here, we take a look at the company he is keeping in England’s top division.

10 Sam Allardyce (Bolton)

5 years, 303 days

Starting off big with Big Sam, Allardyce was a stalwart of the Bolton Wanderers technical area for much of the early 2000s.

After spending three years at the Reebok as a player, he took over the managerial reins in October 1999 with the north-west side in the second tier of English football.

He helped them to promotion in the 2000/01 season before solidifying the club as a stalwart of the Premier League in the following years.

Allardyce was known for his long-ball philosophy, something that worked particularly well against the likes of Arsenal, but drew criticism from counterparts such as Jose Mourinho. It had undoubted success though, with Bolton finishing in the top half of the Premier League in three of his five seasons in charge.

In April 2007, though, Allardyce resigned from his post with the Trotters chasing Europe for the second time in three seasons, eventually finishing seventh and missing out.

No reasons were given for his exit, though he had been linked with the Manchester City job and has since revealed that tensions were strained between him and the club hierarchy.

It proved a disaster for Bolton, who finished the next season in the bottom half of the Premier League, underlining just what an impressive job Allardyce had done.

9 Alan Curbishley (Charlton)

5 years, 312 days

Perhaps the most surprising name on this list, Alan Curbishley is fondly remembered at Charlton Athletic for his excellent work keeping them in the Premier League.

Curbishley was actually in charge at the Valley Stadium for 15 years and enjoyed two spells in the Premier League, but it is his second that makes it onto this list.

Promoted at the end of the 1999/00 season, the English boss helped Charlton avoid the relegation zone, finishing 9th on their return to the top flight.

A series of mid-table finishes followed as Charlton established themselves as a mainstay in the Premier League, even finishing 7th in the 2003/04 season.

However, after a contract renewal dispute, it was announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the 2005/06 season. Having never finished lower than 14th since Curbishley’s second promotion, Charlton were relegated the following season.

8 Rafael Benitez (Liverpool)

5 years, 353 days

Rafa Benitez has had four spells in the Premier League, but spent the majority of his top-flight career at Liverpool.

Joining the Reds in 2004 in place of Gerard Houllier, he oversaw 228 Premier League games in charge of the club, winning 126 of those, and managing the club’s highest points tally in 2008/09 when they finished second to Manchester United, until Jurgen Klopp smashed that record during his time on Merseyside.

They were consistently in and around the top four under Benitez in his first four seasons at the club (finishing 5th, 3rd, 3rd and 4th) before finishing as runners-up to Manchester United in 2008/09, while he was also in charge for the famous comeback win over Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.

However, it quickly soured, with Benitez finishing 7th amid club turmoil in the 2009/10 season, and he left by mutual consent almost exactly six years after his arrival.

7 Harry Redknapp (West Ham)

6 years, 273 days

Once the assistant manager at West Ham United, Harry Redknapp took over from Billy Bonds in 1994 and helped turn the east Londoners into a regular Premier League side after their promotion in 1992/93.

Perhaps best known for his time at Portsmouth, Redknapp played a key role at Upton Park, bringing through a succession of young talent including the likes of Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand, while the arrival of Paolo Di Canio helped them secure their Premier League status.

After a series of impressive campaigns, during which the Hammers finished in the top half of the Premier League, Redknapp was sacked after a downturn in form saw them only narrowly avoid relegation in 2001 – a fate that they suffered two years later.

6 Joe Kinnear (Wimbledon)

6 years, 344 days

Appointed Wimbledon manager just six months before the inaugural Premier League season, Joe Kinnear is a legend with the club. The Englishman guided them to a 12th-place finish in the first top-flight season, before excelling the following campaign and finishing an impressive sixth in the division.

He backed that up by helping Wimbledon to 9th the following season as they became a stalwart of the Premier League, and though a fallow period in mid-table followed, they were still competitive in the cup competitions, reaching the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup.

Surviving international interest and a club takeover, Kinnear’s time in charge of Wimbledon was only stopped when a heart attack persuaded him to step down at the end of the 1999/00 season. A year later, his side had been relegated.

5 Pep Guardiola (Man City)

8 years, 144 days

The only manager still active on this list, Premier League great Guardiola still has time to climb this list through the remainder of his Manchester City career.

Arriving as the world’s best manager in 2015, he endured an uncharacteristically difficult first season in charge, but quickly found his groove in the English top flight. Six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups have since followed as he and Manchester City have dominated the landscape of English football, turning the Etihad side into a European powerhouse.

Still with the potential to add to his tally, Guardiola has a 74% win rate in the Premier League (winning 232 of 315) and has lost just 40 games in eight seasons.

4 Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool)

8 years, 225 days

A modern-day titan of Premier League football and Guardiola’s most recent nemesis, Jurgen Klopp called time on an illustrious Liverpool career just last summer.

Arriving with his side 8th in the Premier League (though they had finished as runners-up just a couple of seasons prior), the ex-Mainz boss set to work turning Liverpool into a footballing powerhouse once more.

Backed with big-money additions like Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, and uncovering gems like Andy Robertson, the German lifted the Champions League and the Premier League during his tenure, finishing second to Manchester City on multiple occasions despite record-high points tallies.

He left having won 209 of his 334 Premier League games – and as a legend of Anfield.

3 David Moyes (Everton)

11 years, 79 days

A Premier League ever-present from the early 2000s, David Moyes remains Everton’s most successful manager of the Premier League era. Though he never won a trophy at Goodison Park, his 11-year stint turned the club into competitors in the top half of the division, with the Toffees regularly finishing in the top 8 under the Scot.

Appointed in 2002, Moyes saw his side finish as high as 4th during the 2004/05 campaign, while he also led his side to an FA Cup final, only to fall to Chelsea at Wembley.

Responsible for helping the careers of Tim Cahill, Marouane Fellaini, Leighton Baines and more, Moyes finally got his big move to Manchester United in 2013, only for that to prove a poisoned chalice at Old Trafford.

2 Sir Alex Ferguson (Man Utd)

20 years, 336 days

The only man to have won more Premier League titles than Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson may soon be looking over his shoulder at that record – but will be safe in the knowledge the Spaniard won’t catch him here.

Serving as Manchester United boss for almost 27 years (21 of those in the Premier League), the Scotsman ushered in a golden generation at the football club, to the point where managers remain judged on his successes – something that has proved too much for a series of good coaches since his departure.

The Red Devils haven’t won the Premier League since he departed in 2013, when he clinched his 13th title in his final season in charge ahead of Manchester City.

It brought to an end a reign that saw him crowned Manager of the Year 11 times and take charge of over 800 Premier League games, winning two Champions League trophies in that time, too. By sheer circumstance, however, he is not top of this list.

1 Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)

21 years, 255 days

That honour goes to his long-time adversary Arsène Wenger, who spent less time in charge of Arsenal than Ferguson did in Manchester, but crucially, spent the entirety of his Gunners tenure in the Premier League.

Arriving as a largely unknown manager from Japan in 1996, Wenger built the only side capable of wrestling the Premier League title out of Manchester United’s hands in the years to come.

Across his first eight years in the top flight, Manchester United (5) and his Arsenal side (3) had a duopoly on the Premier League title, while he remains the only manager to coach a side to an invincible campaign, which he did in 2003/04.

His later career in north London was marred by financial constraints and increased competition at the top, but he kept the Gunners in the top 4 of the Premier League for 21 successive seasons until eventually finishing fifth and sixth in his final two seasons, with the 2017/18 campaign being his last.