World’s richest footballer is Chelsea reject whose internet value smashes Messi plus Ronaldo
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have amassed huge wealth during their careers, but their combined net worth doesn’t even come close to that of one Chelsea reject
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have a combined net worth that doesn’t even come close to one Chelsea reject.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have had remarkable careers, with Argentine World Cup winner Messi, 37, winning countless trophies during his tenure at Barcelona, PSG and Inter Miami, while Portuguese Euros winner Ronaldo, 39, has built an almost as impressive portfolio with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
Celebrity Net Worth reports that Messi, with his eight Ballon d’Ors, 12 league titles, four Champions Leagues and a World Cup, has amassed a substantial net worth of around £680million ($850m). Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who boasts five Ballon d’Ors and seven league titles, is estimated to have a net worth of approximately £640m ($800m).
However, even when you combine their wealth to reach a total of £1.32billion, it pales in comparison to the reported £16billion ($20bn) net worth of Faiq Bolkiah – a staggering 12 times the total of Ronaldo and Messi’s combined wealth. But who exactly is this 26-year-old billionaire who failed to make his mark in the Premier League?
Faisal Bolkiah, nephew of the Sultan of Brunei and among the prospective heirs to a staggering £200bn fortune, might have been born in Los Angeles but his football journey began at the grassroots with Newbury. His subsequent football odyssey saw him flit between the youth setups of Southampton, Chelsea, and Leicester City, without managing to break into any senior squad.
The aspiring footballer’s next port of call was Maritimo, where in 2020 he put pen to paper on his debut professional deal. Yet, first-team action eluded him once again, as he chalked up just one outing with the U23s before packing his bags for Thailand to join Chonburi FC the following calendar flip, reports the Mirror.
There, he chalked up a total of 32 matches, found the back of the net twice, and laid on a quartet of assists. Come 2023, Bolkiah tossed his lot in with Ratchaburi Mitr Phol FC, still pulling his weight on their roster as we speak.
Donning dual American and Bruneian nationality, Bolkiah has donned the Brunei kit six times internationally, triumphing with a solitary goal.
Despite Premier League aspirations that didn’t pan out, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham in Chelsea’s youth echelons, not forgetting Ruben Sammut, who recollects that fellow academy prospects would rib Bolkiah daily about his wealth.
According to The Athletic, Sammut recounted: “You would never ever have thought he was something like the 12th in line to the throne. You would not have thought of him as royalty.
“He was a humble guy, trying every day like every academy player. We used to joke he didn’t need to play football but he wanted to play because he loved football.”
“It wasn’t a regular thing we mentioned. It was that typical banter, saying he is royalty, saying, ‘what’s he doing playing with us?’ But we all knew deep down how much he wanted to play, so it was more good-willed passing comments.”
