Faiq Bolkiah: Meet world's richest footballer who was on the books at Arsenal & Chelsea | OneFootball

Wages in football have been spiralling out of control for many, many years.

We remember the days when £100,000-per-week was an outrageous salary.

Premier League squad player picks up six figures on a weekly basis.

In fact, according to the latest Forbes financial report, Cristiano Ronaldo picks up an eye-watering $125 million in 2021. That’s $70 million in wages and an extra $55 million in endorsements.

After more than a decade at the top of the game, you’d be forgiven for thinking Ronaldo is the richest footballer in the world.

But he’s not.

And neither is Lionel Messi.

Instead, the world’s richest player is a certain Faiq Bolkiah.

Who?

Well, you may have heard of the name because Bolkiah spent much of youth career bouncing around numerous Premier League clubs, including Southampton, Chelsea, Reading and Arsenal.

But it was at Leicester where he signed his first professional contract in March 2016.

Last year, he left the Foxes after failing to break into the first team and joined Portuguese club Maritimo.

He’s also the captain of the Brunei national side, despite only playing six times for them.

‘How is he the richest footballer in the world?’ we hear you ask.

Well, Bolkiah has a net worth of £20 billion. His uncle? The Sultan of Brunei.

His father, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, is part of the Brunei royal family and reportedly blew £10billion in 15-years as head of the Brunei Investment Agency.

It's claimed he owned more than 2,000 cars at one point, including a fleet of Bentleys, Ferraris and Rolls-Royces.

When celebrating his 50th birthday, he wanted to impress his 7-year-old son, Faiq. Therefore, he flew in Michael Jackson for a private concert for him and his family, paying him £12.5 million.

Despite having the opportunity to enjoy a lavish lifestyle, Faiq just wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a footballer.

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“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,” revealed Bolkiah to FourFourTwo back in 2017.

"My parents have always been supportive in helping me to achieve my dreams of being a footballer, and they trained me hard both psychologically and physically through my childhood years, so I have to say they are my role models."

Now at 23-years-old, Bolkiah is yet to play a first-team appearance in his career but isn’t giving up on his dream just yet.