Meet Faiq Bolkiah, the only billionaire footballer in the world who played for Chelsea, Leicester City

When it comes to the richest footballers in the world, the names of Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi come to mind. However, none of the aforementioned stars come close to the world’s richest player, who is a far less-known figure. Faiq Bolkiah, the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, whose net worth is near around £13 billion. 

Born in California, the 24-year-old plays for the Brunei national team and has represented clubs such as Chelsea and Leicester City at the youth level. 

A part of the Bruneian Royal Family, the midfielder also captains his national team. He currently plies his trade for Thai club Chonburi. 

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Since he grew up in England, the world’s richest football had stints with various English clubs, like Reading, Southampton, and even Chelsea. 

While the world’s most successful footballers are all competing at the FIFA World Cup 2022, technically, the richest footballer in the world, Faiq Bolkiah is far away from the limelight. 

Most of his wealth is inherited, and his father is known to be a prince in the southeast Asian country. However, rather than living his life like royalty, Bolkiah decided to pursue a career in football. After joining Chelsea’s academy, he had various trials at other clubs as well, alongside fellow England internationals Chris Willock and Tolaji Bola. 

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While he failed to make the cut at Stamford Bridge, Leicester City took a punt on him handing him a three-year deal, but he never made a first-team appearance for the Premier League side, only playing for their youth teams. 

After his stints in England, Faiq Bolkiah decided to take on a new challenge when he joined the Portuguese club Maritimo in September 2020. He made his debut for the club’s U23 team three months later, while he was among the substitutes for the senior team, he never played for the first team ever. Later in December 2021, he joined his current club Chonburi, becoming the first Bruneian player to feature for a Thai club.