10. Kylian Mbappé – 200 million euros
Source: https://www.soccer.ru/galery/1042235/photo/718846, Кирилл Венедиктов
Kylian Mbappé, currently one of the best footballers in the world, is the youngest on the list at the age of 24. So he still has plenty of time to work his way up the list.
Mbappé's impressive fortune is also helped by sponsorship deals with Nike, Hublot and EA Sports.
9. Ronaldo Nazario – 225 million euros
Ronaldo Nazario, not to be confused with Cristiano, was the first Ronaldo to light up the soccer world, and he was handsomely rewarded for it. The man better known as R9 was a key element in Brazil's victorious line-ups at the 1994 and 2002 World Cups and has established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
Ronaldo has used his immense career earnings to reinvest in the sport that made him rich. He is the majority owner of Real Valladolid, a team in Spain's top division, and owns a controlling stake in his boyhood club, Cruzeiro.
8. Zlatan Ibrahimović – 240 million euros
Source: https://newsmedia.tasnimnews.com/Tasnim/Uploaded/Image/1397/03/28/139703281114532214464144.jpg, Meghdad Madadi
The career of Swedish titan Zlatan Ibrahimović has taken him around the globe, with stops in Italy, Spain, France, England, the Netherlands and the USA, to name but a few. At 41, Zlatan is still playing - not that he has to.
Through more than 20 years as a professional footballer with ridiculously high salaries, a successful autobiography and numerous sponsorship deals, Zlatan has made it onto this list. He is also co-owner of Hammarby IF, a soccer club in his native Sweden.
7. Neymar – 250 million euros
Source: soccer.ru, Кирилл Венедиктов
Neymar first rose to fame as a teenager, his electrifying skills earning him a move to FC Barcelona. There he won the Champions League before moving to Paris Saint Germain (the most expensive transfer in soccer history at 222 million euros). He moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia at the age of just 31. His contract with Al-Hilal earns him more than 450 million AUD per year, making him the highest paid footballer of all time and certainly catapulting him up this list.
6. Dave Whelan – 280 million euros
The name of Englishman Dave Whelan will not be familiar to most people. Whelan played for mediocre clubs Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra in the 50s and 60s and never established himself as a particularly notable athlete.
Whelan retired from soccer not because of a career-ending injury, but at the age of just 29. He wanted to concentrate on his up-and-coming supermarket chain, Whelan Discount Stores. Although this was not as glamorous as the footballing life, it was far more lucrative financially. Whelan sold his supermarket chain before launching a sporting goods franchise, a fitness chain and finally re-entering the world of soccer as the owner of Wigan Athletic.
5. Lionel Messi – 500 million euros
Source: soccer.ru, Кирилл Венедиктов
When he finally won the FIFA World Cup in 2022, Lionel Messi seemingly ended the GOAT debate by surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo and winning the only trophy that had eluded him for so long. In the list of the richest footballers of all time, however, he has to give way to Christian Ronaldo With a salary of AUD 84 million, Messi is by far the highest-paid player in the MLS
4. David Beckham – 505 million euros
Source: https://www.flickr.com/people/gowestphoto/, Tsutomu Takasu
Beckham has built a reputation as a global fashion icon and cultural force. As proof of his immense wealth, Beckham has reinvested in soccer and owns Inter Miami, the club Lionel Messi currently plays for.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – 625 million euros
Source: Student News Agency
Known worldwide as one of the best footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo is also known as a brand. CR7's Instagram follower count of 607 million users is second only to Instagram itself on the platform. Ronaldo is also one of the best-paid current players in terms of salary. His move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr earns him almost 200 million euros a year.
2. Mathieu Flamini – 14.2 billion euros
Mathieu Flamini has made a name for himself as a footballer, making appearances for some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Arsenal, AC Milan and Marseille, and even making three appearances for the French national team. But his salaries in sport are not what placed him so high on this list, and they paled in comparison to the wealth he has acquired from his entrepreneurial talents and business acumen.
Flamini is the co-founder and CEO of GF Biochemicals, the world's leading producer of levulinic acid, a sustainable alternative to oil-based products such as plastics and fuels - a lucrative business, as it turns out.
1. Faiq Bolkiah – 24.6 billion euros
A little-known 25-year-old footballer playing in Thai League 1 is not who you would expect to be at the top of this list. How did he get there?
Bolkiah's wealth comes from his family connections. His uncle is the Sultan of Brunei - a tiny nation with an incredibly wealthy royal family on the island of Borneo - which makes Bolkiah the Prince of Brunei and the richest footballer of all time.
Comments