The Spanish Soccer Federation (RFEF) is preparing to tie Luis de la Fuente down until 2030. RFEF chief Rafael Louzán has no doubt that Spain’s current head coach should be the man shaping the sporting side of the country’s next great organizational challenge, the 2030 FIFA World Cup. And who better to lead Spain over the next four years than the man who has just steered La Roja to the world title?

“Here for the long haul”

Louzán’s aim is to secure a contract extension that would keep De la Fuente in charge for an additional two years. The current agreement between the two parties runs through the end of Euro 2028, but Louzán has already set his sights on extending and upgrading the deal of a coach who has firmly established himself among the elite of world soccer.

Louzán himself acknowledged as much in an interview with AS on the eve of the World Cup final, revealing that the federation intends to sit down with De la Fuente and his representatives in the near future to discuss a new agreement: “We believe De la Fuente is here for the long haul. I also had the privilege of overseeing his previous contract extension, which was important, necessary and deserved. Now we’ll try, as much as possible, to strengthen that relationship even further and extend it. I’m proud of how he helped us reach a good agreement at the time. “We have another date with history now, but we also have one in 2030, and I’d love for Luis to be part of that moment.”

Louzán’s comments amount to a clear statement of intent regarding the future direction of Spain’s World Cup-winning national team. The philosophy is simple: don’t change what’s working. Within the federation, there is complete confidence that De la Fuente is the right person to maintain the competitive standards Spain has demonstrated since he took over, standards that have carried La Roja back to the summit of world soccer.

Once the summer is over, the two sides are expected to sit down, talk, and determine the right moment to finalize a contract extension and salary adjustment that De la Fuente has unquestionably earned. The year 2030 promises to be a historic one for Spanish sport, and the prevailing belief at the federation’s headquarters in Las Rozas is that the national team could not be in better hands.

National coaches’ pay on the up

Signed in early 2025, De la Fuente’s previous renewal was far from straightforward - but, much to the benefit of Spanish soccer, an agreement was eventually reached. Promoted from Spain’s Under-21s in 2022, his salary had appeared at odds with the silverware success he soon began delivering, starting with the UEFA Nations League title in 2023.

Carlo Ancelotti’s move to Brazil, the expected arrival of Jürgen Klopp as Germany’s national team coach, and Italy’s pursuit of Pep Guardiola have all pushed international coaching salaries to new heights. National-team coaches have traditionally occupied a lower pay tier than their counterparts at top clubs, but that gap is narrowing. According to reports out of Brazil, Ancelotti’s contract with the five-time world champions places him at the top of the international coaching pay scale, earning in the region of $23 million net per year.

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