When quizzed about the world’s richest footballers, names like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo come to mind. In reality, however, the title belongs to Faiq Bolkiah, who plays in Thai League 1.
Surprising, right? Since when did the Thai League become so wealthy that it could turn a footballer into a billionaire worth around $20 billion? Well, not quite. In fact, the money Bolkiah earns playing for Ratchaburi in the division is likely insignificant to him.
Bolkiah is a member of the royal family of Brunei, a small, oil-rich country in Asia. To be specific, he is the nephew of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the King of Brunei, who is one of the world’s richest and longest-reigning monarchs.
So, while Bolkiah may not have amassed his immense wealth himself, he certainly has every right to it.
Born in Los Angeles, California, on May 9, 1998, Bolkiah always wanted to be a footballer, even though he knew he didn’t need to make money from it. Thanks to his family’s immense financial backing, pursuing his dream was never truly difficult. Bolkiah moved to England very early in life to chase his ambitions.
In an interview with The Sun in 2018, he said:
“I have been playing football since a very young age, and from an early age, I have always loved being on the field and playing with the ball at my feet.”
He was part of the youth systems at Premier League clubs Southampton, Chelsea, and later Leicester City, with whom he signed a professional contract. Bolkiah represented the Foxes in the UEFA Youth League five times, which turned out to be his only appearances for the East Midlands club.
Faiq Bolkiah is back at Leicester…. I think we’ve done it boys👀 pic.twitter.com/G84ArWKV7a
— niran (@TheOfficialFNG) January 17, 2019
Unable to find game time in England, Bolkiah moved to the Portuguese league to play for CS Marítimo but never made an impact in the senior team, remaining around the reserve squad.
Faiq Bolkiah – son of the Prince of Brunei who’s net worth is estimated to be $20 billion which makes him by far the richest footballer on earth – joins Liga NOS side Marítimo. There’s a headline you didn’t expect to see today pic.twitter.com/ZzzLwtJ5fI
— Marino Peixoto (@marinovpeixoto) September 23, 2020
He quickly realized that staying in Europe might not be the best fit when all he really wanted to do was play football, and not be one of the highest paid players in the world.
The Bruneian eventually traveled back to Southeast Asia to play for Chonburi—who have since been relegated to Thai League 2—in Thailand’s top division. Since 2024, he has been playing for Ratchaburi.
