Who is the richest footballer in the world right now? Here is a comprehensive list.
Not quite long we made a post about the richest footballers in Nigeria; I think you should check that out.
I am usually not surprised when I hear little kids mention the names of the richest players in the world as their role models. I know it’s because of the riches attached.
In fact, the number of football prediction websites in Nigeria popping out almost every day proves that there’s wealth potential in this sport.
Why would many people turn to the top 20 online betting sites in Nigeria if there’s no huge potential in soccer?
The richest football players in the world shouldn’t be so hard to know but what if I told you it’s not what many people think?
I thought it was going to be players from the richest football clubs in the world, but I was wrong. I’m sure you want clarity as well, that’s why you’re reading this, right?
Soccer is not just a game, it commands wealth! Many want to be football stars are not just going there for the money, but fame.
You know what? Let’s get to the just-released list of top richest soccer players in the world.
Even though so many professional footballers are rich, how do we know those who top the list of the richest footballers in the world?
Wait Wait! Are presidents of the world rich as top footballers in the world? I don’t think so.
Forbes Top 10 Richest Footballers In the World
Forbes list guides us based on their salary, endorsements, personal investments, and business.
So let’s see the list of the current richest footballers in the world.
Forbes bases their information not on speculations but on top stakeholders and executives in the industry.
Name of Footballers |
Net Worth |
| Faiq Bolkiah | $20 Billion |
| Cristiano Ronaldo Cr7 | $450 Million |
| Lionel Messi | $400 Million |
| Neymar Jr da Silva | $350 Million |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | $190 Million |
| Wayne Rooney | $160 Million |
| Gareth Bale | $125 Million |
| Eden Hazard | $100 Million |
| Paul Pogba | $85 Million |
| Yaya Toure | $70 Million |
1. Faiq Bolkiah Net Worth – $20 Billion
Surprise surprise! The richest footballer in the world is Faiq Bolkiah a relative of the Sultan of Brune (nephew).
While the first name that comes to mind when discussing the richest footballer could have been players like CR7, Leo Messi and the Likes.
This guy, Faiq Bolkiah beats everyone hands down with an estimated net worth of over $20 Billion.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth – $450 Million
Have you heard of the brightest galaxy called CR7? If you have, did you know that the name was inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo? Yes, the galaxy was named after the 34-year-old footballer who was born in Sao Pedro Portugal.
Though one of the most paid players, Ronaldo’s net worth is just a tiny fraction of the richest man in the whole world.
Ronaldo’s father works as a gardener and also as a kit man while his mother Maria works as a cook in other to support the family of six.
That suggests that Ronaldo had a very humble beginning. He started playing in 1992, at the age of seven for a non-professional team Andria where his father works as a kit man.
At 14, he was self-assured that he will thrive well in football; hence, he decided to stop school and concentrated more on football.
Though he had a health challenge of a racing heart at 15, he did not allow that to serve as a barrier to him. After the successful operation on his heart, he continued playing.
In 2002, he started his senior career with sporting CP after which Manchester United bought him then as the most expensive teenager in the history of English football. In 2009 Real Madrid had him bought at the rate of 80 million Euros.
It’s no news now that he left real Madrid for Juventus as it was officially announced on 10th July 2018 at a huge sum of 100 million Euro. He also plays the forward position (number 7) for Portugal.
Before he left for Juventus, he earned 93 million dollars while he earns 83 million dollars from non-football sources.
His non-football sources of income include a fashion boutique which he named CR7. Guess you know where the CR7 comes from. C= Cristiano, R = Ronaldo and the no 7 which is his shirt number on the field.
Asides that, he partnered with many companies to produce underwear, premium shirts, shoes and perfumes. He has a museum which he named Myseur CR7 in his hometown.
There you will find his trophies and memorabilia of his life. Yeah, you can as well plan a vacation to see the museum. Trust me it will be at a token but Ronaldo generates something tangible from there.
Ronaldo has two hotels he named Pestana CR7 and he also has many endorsements. I’m sure there will be other sources that are not known to the public. Now you see why he is on the list of richest footballer in the world.
He is the top scorer for Portugal, he has scored more than 670 goals in his senior career. He is the first player in history to win 4 European golden shoes.
Ronaldo has won Ballon d’Or 5 times and of course, for him to have a museum for his trophies, he must have had many awards to his honors.
As a proud Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo On June 8, 2019 won Uefa Nations League Cup (UNLC), where he played against Switzerland.
He has a son from a baby mama, twins from another and a daughter from another meaning he is blessed with four children.
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3. Lionel Messi Net Worth – $400 Million
Lionel Messi is the 3rd richest footballer in the world. Let’s get the fact about him. Are you ready?
This Argentine footballer was born in Rosario Argentina on the 24th June 1987 to his father Jorge Messi who works as a steel factory manager.
His interest in football started at a very tender age but the record has it that he started his youth carrier at Newell’s Old Boys at the age of 7.
His grandmother was a source of encouragement to him as she accompanies him to any of his training and matches.
Have you observed him looking up and pointing to the sky after scoring a goal? Yes, he does that in tribute to that great woman (his grandmother) who believes in his dreams.
Messi also battled with a growth hormone deficiency at a tender age of 10 but that did not stop him as he resumed back to his carrier after he finished his treatment.
After he left Newell’s old boys club at 13 Messi has spent the rest of his life in Barcelona. I guess it’s because Barcelona gave him a chance. They did not give up on him when others did.
When others backed off on their promise especially with his treatment fee when he suffered from the growth hormone deficiency, Barcelona stood by him because they believed in him.
According to him, no matter the pressure mounted by other teams who want to buy him, he will be there as long as they want him but No one knows tomorrow actually.
The introvert player also plays the forward position and he is considered by some as the best dribbler in the world. He plays for Argentina and his father serves as his agent.
He has scored more than 600 goals. Messi has also won the Ballon d’Or award 6 times. He was awarded footballer of the year for 3 consecutive years starting from 2015 to 2017,
He has also won European golden shoe thrice and UEFA men’s player of the year award. Sure you will skip all other facts about Messi if I’m to mention all his awards. They are numerous.
In November 2017, Messi signed a new contract with Barca, his new earning per week is now $667,000 and a signing bonus of $59.6 million thereby making his salary a total of $84 million according to Forbes.
He has also invested in properties and has endorsements with Adidas, Gatorade, Huawei, Hawkers and Pepsi. His endorsement earns him 27 million USD making his total net worth as $400 million.
Also, a theme park called Messi Experience Park is set to open in the Chinese city of Nanjing. He is married to Antonella Roccuzzo and they are both blessed with three sons.
4. Neymar Jr Net Worth – $350 Million
This Brazilian professional footballer ranks as the 4th wealthiest footballer in the world. He was born 5th February 1992 to his father Neymar Santos.
He became known at 17 although he has been active since he has been playing with Santos FC in 2003. He left Barcelona in 2017 for Paris Saint Germain where he signed a five-year contract.
According to Forbes, his take-home now is 350 million dollars. He also makes 22 million dollars from endorsement with Nike, Gillette, Panasonic, Volkswagen, Unilever, Santander and many others.
He featured in front covers of many video games such as pr0 evolution soccer. He also promotes modern pop music. With time, Neymar can eventually top the list of the richest footballer in the world.
Neymar plays the forward position plus he can play with both feet which makes him a good dribbler. At 20 this talented player has already scored his 100th goal.
He was awarded the South American Footballer of the year for 2011 and 2012, ligue 1 player of the year, 2011 world soccer young player of the year and many more.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Net Worth – $190 Million
Ibrahimovic, the 5th richest footballer in the world was born 37 years ago in Malmo, Sweden to his father Sefik Ibrahimovic who is a Muslim. He started his youth carrier in Maimo BI at the age of 8.
He chose Ronaldo has his role model and report has it that he studied everything about him ranging from his movements on the pitch to his lifestyle in short
Ronaldo was almost like an idol to him as he had his photos all over his room. This must have motivated him to be what he is today.
While doing my research, I was baffled to know that Ibahimovic has played for nine (9) clubs since he started his senior career in 1999 with Maimo FF.
He is currently in LA Galaxy as he has signed the contract to be with them till December 2020. He retired from playing for his national team Sweden in 2016. While with the team he scored 62 goals in his 116 appearances with them.
His earning from soccer was 19 million Euros per year while in Manchester United but it has been greatly slashed to €850,000 per year in LA Galaxy.
Asides Soccer, Ibrahimovic has a company he named A-Z sportswear. This company sells sport wear for men, women, and children.
With the help of the world leading perfume maker; Olivier Pescheux, he has also launched his fragrance known as Ibrahimovic Perfumes.
Possibly you’ve come across his game Zlatan Legend as I did sometimes back on play store. It’s a game football lover will fall in love with because it combines football and racing. Just that the more you download, the more Ibrahimovic makes kudi (money).
He also advertises numerous products like Microsoft Xbox, Nivea, Volvo cars, sports drinks, boot sponsorship deals like Adidas, Nike and lots more. You see why he makes the list of richest footballers in the world.
He won the golden boot award in 2012, 10 times won the golden ball award given to the best male footballer in Sweden and others.
Even though he is born into a Muslim family, he is a Catholic. He is married to Helena Sever and they are both blessed with two sons.
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6. Wayne Rooney Net Worth – $160 Million
Rooney ranks as the 6th richest footballer in the world. This English footballer was born to Thomas Rooney on 24th October 1985 and he attended Our Lady and St Swithin’s primary school and Se LA Salle School.
He started playing at the age of 9 with the Everton youth team and he is currently playing for D.C United. He stopped playing for England in 2016.
According to Forbes, he earns $22 million from soccer and he also gets $5 million from endorsements deal with Nike, Ford, and Nokia.
He also signed a 5 million euro deal with the largest sports book in publishing history with Harper Collins.
He won the 2004 golden ball award, 2009 premier league player of the month and many more. He is a Roman Catholic and he is married to Coleen Rooney. They are blessed with four children.
7. Gareth Bale Net Worth – $125 Million
The list continues with Gareth Bale as the 7th world’s richest footballer. He was born in Cardiff Wales on 16th July 1989.
His father Frank was a school caretaker and his mother was an operation manager. He attended Eglwys Newdel primary school at Whitchurch and also went to Whitchurch high school.
Gareth Bale was discovered while playing in Cardiff Civil Service football club at the age of 10 and in 2010 he started his senior carrier in Southampton.
He is presently playing for Real Madrid and he gets $15 million as salary per year and $24 million for endorsements from the likes of Adidas, Nissan, Footlocker, Lucozade and many more.
He also has a company which he shares with his parents with him having the largest share of 60% and his parents 40%. All of these makes him rank as the seventh richest footballer in the world.
Though he battles with many injuries, He still tries hard to give a brilliant performance in all the clubs he played with. He is engaged to Ema Rhys-Jones and they are blessed with three children.
8. Eden Hazard Net Worth – $100 Million
This is the 8th richest player. This guy was born 7th January 1991 in Belgium. As for him, record shows the talent runs in the family as the father and mother were both footballers.
The papa plays as a defensive midfielder while mama plays as a striker. In fact, the mother stopped playing when she was three months pregnant with Eden. Later the two retired as footballers and they turned sports teachers.
Hazard started playing at 4 with royal Stade Brainois but he started his senior career in 2006 when he played for his national team (U15 Belgium).
He previously plays for Chelsea with a take-home of £200,000 per week, but in June 2019, the heavy club Real Madrid Signed Eden Hazard on June 7th. The Belgian international has signed a five-year deal at the Bernabéu.
This plus his endorsements from Nike, FIFA video games and Belgium based lotus bakeries makes his total net worth a sum of 100 million dollars.
He is married to Natacha Van Honacker and they are blessed with three children who are all boys.
More World’s Richest Footballers
The list of the wealthiest footballers in the world is still on.
9. Paul Pogba Net Worth – $85 Million
This 26-year-old footballer plays for France and has been playing for Manchester United since 2016. He received the Golden ball award in 2013, bravo award in 2016, 2015 UEFA team of the year, the best player for the FIFA U-20 world cup and many more.
His parents are Guineans but he was born and raised in France. Hence, I guess that’s why he claims and plays for France. Interestingly his team won the FIFA world cup 2018 and he was so happy.
He signed a five-year contract with Manchester United with $20 million salaries in a year asides bonus and he earns $4.5 million from endorsements with Adidas as the major sponsor.
He has many cars ranging from Lamborghini Aventador, Mercedes GLS 4 BY 4, Rolls Royce Dawn and lots more. All of these make him the 9th richest footballer in the world.
Well, the midfielder is still single but I don’t know if he is interested in African ladies or he just needs a baby mama like C Ronaldo. Lol, well that is just for interested single ladies.
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10. Yaya Toure Net Worth – $70 Million
Yaya Toure was born in Ivory Coast on 13th May 1983. He started playing at the age of 13 with ASEC Mimosas. He played as a central midfielder for Ivory Coast and he has scored 59 goals in his current club Manchester City.
Manchester paid him £250,000 per week and he got $21.7 million from his endorsements. Forbes estimates his personal investment as $46.4 million and in total his net worth is estimated to be $70 million making him the 10th richest footballer in the world.
He has won two premier league titles, 2013 African footballer of the year, Captained Ivory Coast victory in 2015 African Cup of Nations. He is married to Gineba Toure and they are blessed with two children.
Manchester City legend Yaya Toure is heading into retirement at the age of 35, his agent Dimitri Seluk has revealed.
Playing in China is one of the best ways to get rich quickly in a player’s football career, there are some players who have made this list of the world’s richest players.
Oscar Net Worth ($50 Million Net Worth)Â
Oscar was born in Brazil but He lost his father at a very tender age of three. He started his senior career in Sao Paulo and he left Chelsea in 2017 to a club in China known as Shanghai SIPG.
Though he is earning big time there, his visibility is reduced compared to when he was playing in Europe.
Currently, he is the highest paid footballer in China with a take-home of 400,000 Euros per week. He also earns from endorsements. In total, his net worth at present is $30 million dollars.
He is married to Julia and they are blessed with two children.
Last year, Messi extended his contract with Barcelona till 2021 and the club agreed to pay him an annual salary plus bonus in excess of $80 million, meaning his salary is a total of $111 million.
That will be in addition to his endorsement with Adidas, Gatorade, Pepsi, Ooredoo, Huawei and Hawkers.
Does this mean Messi is now the highest paid footballer in the world based on Forbes record?
What about Cristiano Ronaldo? His new move to Juventus says a lot! He was recently signed to Juventus at €100,000,000 not to talk of his non-football sources of income.
So who is the highest paid football player in the world? Be the Judge.
Which Is The Richest Club In the World?
Manchester United; the red devils top the list of the richest club as they generate more revenue than other clubs. The record shows they generated €676.3 million in the last season.
Their sources of revenues include broadcasting deals with internet and cable companies, training kit sponsors like Nike Chevrolet and so on, food and drinks sold on match days, admission tickets parking fee and many more.
Last Notes On Current Richest Footballers In the World
There you have my list of Forbes top 10 richest footballer in the world 2020
Please remember that the highest salary earner is not the same as the richest. It’s a combination of their salary, endorsements, personal investments, and business.
Also, Fathers wealth should not be attributed to the son’s wealth. Papa money is different from sons. Until the father dies, then the son can then inherit.
These successful highest paid players had barriers but they were not discouraged. They never give up. Do not give up so you can also attain your dreams!