There is no doubt that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the highest paid footballers in the world along with the title of the greatest players on earth. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the most dominating richest footballers of Europe who always succeed to make it to every peculiar and spectacular list. It’s been over a decade since they are holding this position in the field along with another highest earning player, Neymar. According to Forbes, players employed by the teams Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, Messi and Cristiano were the highest paid footballers in the world last year with Christiano standing at second next to Messi. Messi’s teammate, Neymar also made it to the same list securing 4th rank next to Ronaldo earning $95 million.
Now you must be thinking why we are telling you all of this about these three players only. You are right to have this question because surprisingly only these three players of the top 10 highest paid players list made it here to become one of the richest footballers in the world right now. But wait, before you begin to put your hands together, do you know if Messi is the richest footballer in the world? Well, the question sounds interesting so let’s find out.
Top 10 Richest Footballers in the world
You must not confuse the highest paid footballers with the richest ones. Yes, you heard me right! Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar can be the highest paid footballers but they are far below in the list of Richest athletes. You will be shocked to know that there are many footballers whose net worth is much higher than your favorite and world’s best playing Footballers.
1. Faiq Bolkiah
The name sounds royal and Rich but surprisingly Faiq doesn’t just look rich from his name but is the Richest Footballer in the world right now in reality. Faiq Bolkiah is the son of the prince of Brunei whose brother is the monarch of the country. He tops the list of richest footballers with a net worth of $20 billion. But the more amazing thing then his net worth is the fact that he owns his own Nations League.
The national team of Brunei belongs to one of the wealthiest families on the planet. Being the son of The Prince of Brunei, Jefri Bolkiah and nephew of the Sultan of nation, Uncle Hassanal, Faiq became the wealthiest footballer on the planet.
The 24 years old footballer has studied in Southampton, Leicester City and Chelsea. But when he couldn’t find his place in any senior squad, he joined the Maritimo in Portugal in 2020 and after completing one year, he shifted his membership to Chonburi in Thailand where he made a sum of 14 appearances. In his own nation’s league he has made 6 appearances and scored only once. The footballer is also quite famous on social media with 238k followers on Instagram.
2. Mathieu Flamini
You might not have heard the former Arsenal player’s name among the greatest footballers or best players but he has done exceptionally well in the second innings as an entrepreneur. The player you cheer for on TV is a big and successful entrepreneur along with being a Footballer. He has founded the company GF Biochemicals with his partner Pasquale Granata.
His company is Majorly known for the production of derivatives and levulinic acid. With the headquarter in Italy and presence in the Netherlands the player has an estimated net worth of more than $10 billion. Flamini is a multi-talented player who has gained sufficient popularity on social media as well. He has a total of 401 k followers on his Instagram account while one of his posts from a match was liked by 15,307 people.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Now your wait is over, because everyone’s favourite and the greatest Footballer has come to the list. It cannot be speculated that Portuguese are the legend of football but playing skills, dives and popularity of Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed it all. Apart from his personal crisis, the player is a great business tycoon as well. He has sponsorships with some Major brands who have their presence in multiple nations such as ZTE, Nike, KFC, Samsung and many more.
World’s third wealthiest footballer Cristiano has his own brand known as CR7. CR7 is a brand that covers a long line of luxury clothing and accessories. Ronaldo owns this brand and also has developed a huge luxurious hotel chain called CR7 Pestana. Ronaldo’s net worth will leave you jaw-dropped as it is estimated to be over $500 million. Ronaldo is also rich in his social media fan following with having 482 million followers on his Instagram profile which signals the popularity of the legend all over the world. His each post receives likes in lakhs.
4. Lionel Messi
The highest paid footballer in the world finally made it and secured the 4th rank in richest footballers list. Messi might get paid more from PSG than his rival Cristiano Ronaldo gets from Manchester United but he failed to leave Ronaldo behind in the net worth index. The Argentine stands next to Ronaldo as the wealthiest footballer on the planet with an estimated net worth of $400 million. Ronaldo and Messi have a lot in common including their income sources such as the luxurious clothing centres and their brands.
Just like Ronaldo Messi also has his own clothing line and its chain of stores that was inaugurated in Barcelona in 2019. The PSG striker also owns a MiM hotel chain, a premium brand in which Messi invested a big deal of money in 2017. Apart from this, he has sponsorships and endorsements from some of the Major multinational brands such as Adidas, Pepsi, MasterCard, and Budweiser. 361 million fans follow him on his Instagram.
Sadly, the England’s international football player David Beckham retired from sport a few years ago but he managed to stay the attention grabbing great superstar. David owns a company named DB Ventures that profited him €29 million during the course of 2016 and 2017. It means that the player earned around €40000 per day during that time period. But one is to remember that he was paid the amount in dividends from his company.
One of the companies official documents states that Beckham was paid €29 in two dividends – first dividend of €18.75 million in 2017 and second dividend of €10.2 million in 2016. Paying such a huge amount is one of the Major sources of his income. But other than dB Ventures he also owns MLS side Inter Miami in partnership with someone else. Apart from all of this, he continues to be the brand ambassador of some major clothing and footwear brands including H&M, Diageo, Adidas, Loreal and many others.
6. Dave Whelan
Want to know the net worth of Dave Whelan? Wanna know how rich the retired player is? Well, the question seems easy but its answer is more likely to get complicated because the Whelan earnings does not just belong to his playing days at the Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra but a huge credit goes to his club as well. Whelan also runs a company named Wigan Athletic and JJB Sports. He also bears a nickname after his club, called Mr. Wigan. Having been linked to the club, the English player’s estimated net worth is $220 million, in contrast to the predictions of some people who think that he is a billionaire. We don’t have much information about the houses and cars he has but it is confirmed that he makes a great deal of money.
7. Neymar
Here comes another tiger of Paris Saint Germain after Lionel Messi. Neymar is a billionaire in the eyes of several people who are going to be proven wrong today because Neymar’s estimated net worth is $200 million according to Forbes which definitely makes him one of the richest football players in the world. World’s number one dribbler has got a $203 million contract from Manchester United after leaving PSG.
Playing winger for Barcelona and PSG, the player’s full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior. His nickname is Joia, Juninho. Neymar’s richness can be evaluated by the number and brands of the car he has including Maserati, Aston Martin, Audi RB, Porsche, Lamborghini, Range Rover, Ferrari, Lamborghini Veneno and Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. Cars apart he has two huge mansions in Bougival, Paris and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
How can someone not know Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he has become such a popular and domestic name in the household of the world for being one of the greatest entertaining sports personalities. The Swedish Professional player’s estimated net worth is $190 million out of which $27 million comes from his club while Zlatan earns around $5 million only through endorsements. Zlatan invests his wealth in cars and houses as he is the owner of four ferraris, Lamborghini Urus and Porsche. He has two large mansions in Europe as well including one on Lake Como, Italy and Cheshire, England
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played as a striker for clubs including LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Manchester United. After joining Manchester in 2016 and LA Galaxy in 2018, he rejoined the Swedish national team in 2020. He has made more than 100 appearances for the Swedish national team over a career of 20 years. The player is one of the greatest strikers of all the time making a score of over 570 career goals till now.
9. Ronaldo
Popularly known as Ronaldo, Luis Nazario de Lima is a Brazilian football player who has recorded his name in the history as one of the greatest players of all time. There is no doubt that Brazilians are legends of the game. Surprisingly, Ronaldo’s wealth is synonymous to his enormous talent as his estimated net worth is $160 million. Known with the nickname O Fenomeno, the Brazilian owns several houses and cars including the Major names such as Range Rover, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes. While he has two large mansions in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
The player is a great striker and plays as one for Inter Milan, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He has won the title of FIFA World player of the year three times and two Ballon d’or awards. He also won the FIFA World Cup in 2002.
10. Alexandre Pato
Here enters the non famous but richest footballers concluding this list. Alexandre Pato may not be significantly very famous but he earns more money than many more famous football players. He is much ahead of them in the net worth index with an estimated net worth of $145 million according to Forbes. But now the question arises how he became so rich? According to a report in the Daily Mail, the latter earns a good deal of money from investing with Cosmetics endorsements, a chain of restaurants, real estate, a fashion line, clothing line, a Vodka line and many more. The full name of the player is Alexandre Rodriguez da Silva while he is called by his nickname The Duck as well. He plays forward for Orlando City. Not yet many revelations are made about his investments in cars and houses like other players
2. Mathieu Flamini
