JANUARY 8, 2018 – Back in August, Business Insider UK compiled data from Forbesand Goal.com to reveal the net worth of the top 10 richest football players in the world.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who came out on top with a net worth of £250 million, followed closely by Lionel Messi in second with £230 million.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic then came in at third with £110 million, while Wayne Rooney (£93 million) and Eden Hazard (£77 million) placed fourth and fifth respectively.
The remainder of the top 10 reads as follows, from sixth to tenth:
Gareth Bale (£56 million), Neymar (£49 million), Yaya Toure (£43 million), Sergio Aguero (£40 million), John Terry (£39 million).
It’s no surprise that Ronaldo and Messi top the charts given they both earn in excess of £350,000-per-week, though Messi recently signed a new contract worth £500,000-per-week.
However, it turns out Ronaldo isn’t technically the world’s richest football player, because somewhere in the Premier League, there’s a 19-year-old worth €20 billion.
And no, that’s not a joke.
According to the Mirror, the world’s richest football player is actually Leicester City youngster Faiq Bolkiah, nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.
Faiq is an exciting winger who began his career in England with AFC Newbury, before spells at Southampton, Arsenal and Chelsea.
He’s now at Leicester currently playing for the reserves, but you need only look at his Instagram account to see what kind of lifestyle he leads.
Faiq’s father, Jefri Bolkiah, reportedly used to spend £35 million a MONTH on luxury cars, watches and white gold pens.
His car collection, which currently stands at 2,300, is unlike anything you’ve ever heard of, including Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys.
And when Jefri turned 50, he paid Michael Jackson £12.5 million to perform a private concert at a stadium he had built just for the event. Wow.
Faiq may be set for life, but he remains focused on football and explained in a rare interview recently how his parents helped him to turn professional.
“I’ve played football since as early as I can remember and from a young age I’ve always enjoyed going out on the field and having the ball at my feet,” said the 19-year-old.
“My parents have always been supportive in helping me to achieve my dreams of being a footballer.
“They trained me hard both psychologically and physically through my childhood years, so I have to say they are my role models.”
