The world's richest footballer, worth £17billion more than Messi and Ronaldo combined

While most people think that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the richest footballers in the world, this is not the case.

And this, even if Ronaldo would earn 200 million dollars per year at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Messi 32 million dollars at Inter Miami in the United States.

But it is Faiq Bolkiah, a 25-year-old footballer from Brunei, who holds the title of the world's richest footballer, with a net worth of £18 billion.

To put that into perspective, Messi is worth around £500m and Ronaldo is worth around £400m – together that's still £17bn less than Bolkiah.

Unlike Messi or Ronaldo, Bolkiah's fortune does not come only from football. He is the nephew of Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei, and is part of one of the richest royal families in the world.

The Sultan himself is worth an estimated £22 billion, with the family owning palaces, luxurious properties and a staggering fleet of almost 600 Rolls-Royce cars.

Born in Los Angeles in 1998, Faiq has dual citizenship of Brunei and the United States, but he spent his early years in England, where he played football.

He attended Thorngrove Preparatory School near Newbury and quickly caught the attention of coaches with his talent on the field.

Faiq then left Newbury and joined Southampton's academy in 2009. Four years later he tried out for Arsenal but quickly returned to the Saints.

Former teammates described him as “quick, skilful and humble” and his style of play was similar to that of Theo Walcott.

In 2014, Faiq joined Chelsea's youth team, impressing enough to earn a two-year contract.

Ruben Sammut, a former Chelsea academy player, previously said: “He was a shy guy who trained hard every day. We joked about how rich he was, but we all knew how much he loved football.

Faiq then played for Leicester City, where he signed his first professional contract in 2015.

Although he was part of the reserve team for three years, he never made a senior appearance. He eventually moved to Maritimo in Portugal in 2020, but then left by mutual consent.

Faiq has captained the Brunei national team on the international stage and scored for his country.

And despite his wealth, football remains his true passion. “I’ve been playing football for as long as I can remember and I’ve always loved being on the field,” he once said.

In 2021, Faiq joined Chonburi FC in the Thai League before moving to Ratchaburi in 2023, where he reportedly earns just £2,300 per month, having refused special privileges due to his royal status.