 "Despite becoming the first billionire footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo is not the richest footballer. Images: Reuters/Faiq Bolkiah/Instagram")
Cristiano Ronaldo recently became the first footballer to become a billionaire, but he isn’t the richest footballer by a long shot. That status belongs to a former Chelsea youth player who reportedly has a net worth of a massive $20 billion.
Confused? Let’s make it clearer for you. Cristiano Ronaldo was recently declared by Bloomberg as football’s first billionaire , as he found a place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. But Faiq Bolkiah, nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, is considered to be the richest footballer with a massive net worth $20 billion.
Why Ronaldo isn’t the richest footballer despite his billionaire tag
The reason why Ronaldo is football’s first billionaire but Bolkiah is the richest footballer is largely technical. While Ronaldo’s net worth is amassed mostly by his football salaries and endorsement money, Bolkiah’s wealth comes as a result of his family’s income.
To put it differently, Ronaldo is the first footballer to earn $1 billion through his football career, but Bolkiah’s net worth comes entirely from his family’s wealth as a result of his being the prince of Brunei.
Another unique thing about Ronaldo’s humongous net worth is that most of his income comes from salaries and not endorsements, which is different from other star sportspersons. The biggest contributor for Ronaldo has been his latest two-year contract extension at Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, which was reportedly worth more than $400m. This is pure tax-free income as Ronaldo is not required to pay any taxes in Saudi Arabia.
As per Bloomberg, Ronaldo made $550 million in salary during his European tenure when he turned out for big clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus between 2002 and 2023. He then moved to Al Nassr on an estimated $225 million annual salary till 2025 and the latest contract extension has put the 40-year-old star footballer in a league of his own.
Faiq Bolkiah’s football career
Meanwhile, Bolkiah is a left winger who currently plays for Thai club Ratchaburi Football Club in Thai League 1. The 27-year-old was part of the youth academies at English Premier League clubs Southampton, Chelsea and Leicester, but never made a first-team appearance for them.
His professional debut came at Portugal side Marítimo in the 2020-21 season before moving to Thai club Chonburi in 2021 and now Ratchaburi.