'World's richest footballer' is worth more than anyone in sport on 2023 billionaires list

Posted Saturday, April 08, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

The likes of Michael Jordan, Jerry Jones and many more have become billionaires within the sports industry, but even they pale into insignificance to the 'world's richest footballer'

'World's richest footballer' is worth more than anyone in sport on 2023 billionaires list
Bolkiah is now playing for Chonbury FC in Thailand (Image: Photo by Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi could be paid the best part of £350million a year if he moves to Saudi Arabia - but even that obscene salary would not come close to Faiq Bolkiah’s mind boggling wealth.

Born in Los Angeles, Bolkiah is believed to be worth more than £20billion. However, this jaw dropping figure did little to help his football career as spells at Southampton, Chelsea, and Leicester City did not result in a healthy Premier League career.

Not that he was left out of pocket. Despite never really establishing himself as an elite level footballer, he has more money than any other sports person on the planet.

According to Forbes, Jerry Jones, owner and president of NFL giants the Dallas Cowboys, is the richest sports figure in the world, with a bustling £10.37bn fortune behind him. That still is not even half of what Bolkiah is valued at.

He is the nephew of to Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, who is worth around £24.12bn But while Bolkiah never cut the mustard at Southampton, Chelsea, or Leicester, he did manage to garner six international caps for Brunei.

'World's richest footballer' is worth more than anyone in sport on 2023 billionaires list
Bolkiah tried his luck with Chelsea but could not make any meaningful progress (Image: Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

He even managed to help himself to a goal in one of his matches for his country of origin. Bolkiah now plays for Thai giants Chonburi FC in the Thai first division.

The 24-year-old has mustered two goals in 14 appearances for the Asian side. Of course, from a footballer’s perspective, he is still relatively young. He may be one good manager or positive spell of form away from entrenching himself within a team and making a name for himself.

'World's richest footballer' is worth more than anyone in sport on 2023 billionaires list
Bolkiah is now spending a lot of his time modelling (Image: fjefrib / Instagram)

And if his footballing dream continues to fade away, he’s hardly going to be struggling to pay whatever bills he has. As well as trying to carve himself a place within the beautiful game, Bolkiah also spends his time modelling for brands such as Balenciaga and many more.

Considering the fact he has 242,000 followers, that may be the industry for him.