Top 10 richest footballers in the world, and their wealth sources [2024]

Owing to his extraordinary family wealth, Faiq Bolkiah, born into Brunei’s royal family as the nephew of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's wealthiest and longest-reigning monarchs, is the richest footballer in the world. 

Unlike others on this list, Faiq's personal net worth, commonly reported to exceed $20 billion, is tied to his royal inheritance and vast Sultan-controlled family fortune. This in effect comes largely from Brunei's extensive oil and gas reserves.

When compared to his substantial inherited riches, Faiq Bolkiah’s very negligible earnings from the sport position him as an outlier in the world of football wealth. 

Still, his footballing path, which included stints at Leicester City, Chelsea, and Maritimo, is largely driven by personal passion rather than financial need, with his wealth allowing him to follow his sporting ambitions without the pressures most professional athletes face to secure financial security through their careers. 

Besides being the numero uno, Faiq Bolkiah is also the youngest among the richest footballers in the world. 

Making a remarkable shift from sports to business, former professional soccer player Mathieu Flamini has established himself as the second wealthiest footballer in the world. 

After launching his football career at French side Olympique de Marseille, Flamini went on to play for Arsenal as well as AC Milan and earned a few caps for the French national team before retiring in 2019.

In 2008, while still an active football player, Flamini, along with Italian entrepreneur Pasquale Granata, co-founded GF Biochemicals, a company specialising in producing levulinic acid, which is a a bio-based alternative to petroleum that can be used to create various products traditionally made from fossil fuels, such as plastics and detergents. 

This avenue has now positioned him as one of the world's richest footballers, with GF Biochemicals now valued at around 30 billion euros, making Flamini's personal wealth around 15 billion euros. 

Although Flamini has managed to balance his very demanding football career with business interests by building a strong team of experts and collaborating with research institutions, his status as one of the richest football players in the world is under threat after investigations revealed that his business dealings involved offshore companies. 

Suggestions of ties to Alisher Usmanov, a Russian oligarch and former major shareholder at Arsenal, have raised questions about tax practices and transparency while also hinting at complex financial arrangements.

Bolstered by his latest deal with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, where he earns a world record €200 million annually, Cristiano Ronaldo's $600 million fortune ranks third among the wealthiest football players in the world.

His salary is well ahead of other elite sportsmen like Lionel Messi, who earns substantially less with Inter Miami.

A range of business ventures, including his CR7 hotel chain, which runs opulent properties in big cities such as Madrid, Lisbon, and New York; his major share in hair transplant clinic Insparya; and a successful clothing line spanning everything from pants to fragrances and footwear, also greatly contribute to Cristiano's ranking as one of the richest football players in the world.

The wealthiest active European football player, Ronaldo has also shown his economic sense by establishing a modern padel club in Portugal, collaborating with bottled water company Ursu9, and signing huge sponsorships with companies like Nike, Herbalife, and Clear Shampoo. 

Ronaldo's extraordinary riches still lag below that of football's wealthiest player, Faiq Bolkiah, whose family wealth from the Brunei royal family exceeds the earnings of Portugal's greatest athlete. 

Cristiano also generates substantial revenue from the Internet and, in September 2024, became the first human to amass over 1 billion followers on social media after breaking several records with the launch of his YouTube channel. 

With career earnings exceeding $1 billion and a net worth over $500 million, Lionel Messi holds a solid financial standing as the 4th richest footballer in the world. The Argentine, who is the highest paid player in La Liga’s history, solidified his wealth with subsequent moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.

In addition to lucrative bonuses and compensation tied to deals with Apple and Adidas, his 2022 contract with the American club made him the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer (MLS) with a base salary of $12 million. 

By pushing his total earnings in 2023 alone to approximately $135 million, according to Forbes, the aforementioned endorsements cemented Messi's standing as one of the richest footballers in the world. 

Messi complements his key lifetime Adidas partnership through major sponsorship deals with big brands such as Pepsi, Budweiser, Gatorade, and Mastercard. 

Football's greatest left-footed player is also a savvy entrepreneur, as highlighted by his 2022 launch of Play Time Sports-Tech, a $200 million holding company aimed at investing in sports, media, and technology. 

The Argentine, who owns the MIM Hotels chain in Spain, has entered the fashion industry with his own line of clothing and a joint venture with luxury wristwatch Jacob & Co.

Though his combined fortune with his wife, Victoria Beckham, is an eye-popping $514 million, as reported by the Sunday Times Rich List, David Beckham ranks as the fifth richest footballer in the world by virtue of his individual $450 million net worth. 

By the time of his retirement in 2013, David Beckham was one of the highest-paid athletes globally, having earned around $800 million in wages, endorsements, and bonuses during stints at Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Paris Saint-Germain. 

Paving a pathway for a smooth transition to the world of business was his global ambassadorial role for brands like Armani, Gillette, PepsiCo, and Adidas. 

To manage his cache of endorsement deals and commercial ventures, Beckham founded DB Ventures, an institution with partnerships tied to Adidas, the Tudor watch brand, and Haig Club whisky.

Beckham, in 2022, bolstered his standing as one of the world's richest footballers when he landed a major windfall with the sale of 55% of DB Ventures to Authentic Brands Group for $230 million. 

The former England international acquired Inter Miami for $25 million in 2014 after exercising his option to purchase an MLS expansion team, before launching the franchise in 2018.

Since the blockbuster signing of global icon Lionel Messi, the club has become one of the league's most prominent, with its annual revenue soaring from $60 million in 2023 to a staggering $200 million, marking an impressive 233% increase. 

Beckham has proven very marketable even post-retirement, with sources claiming $177 million as the total earnings from his infamous 10-year contract to be the face of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 

As one of the richest football players in the world, David Beckham, reputed as a lavish spender, has a vehicle collection worth more than $3 million and a sizable art collection estimated at around $44 million.

His collection of properties includes houses in the English countryside, a townhouse in London valued at a staggering $38 million, a Miami penthouse with breathtaking views of Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and a villa on the opulent Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. 

Maintaining his status as one of the highest-paid athletes since his record-breaking transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar, with an annual salary of €100 million in Saudi Arabia, is the sixth richest footballer in the world. 

During his stint at PSG, only teammate Kylian Mbappé commanded greater remuneration than the Brazilian in Europe. 

Excluding his formative years at Santos, Neymar has accumulated at least $717.5 million over his career in salaries and lucrative commercial deals with major brands like Puma, Red Bull, and PokerStars. 

These substantial earnings are reflected in a lavish lifestyle with perks such as the Al Hilal-provided luxurious private Boeing 747-400 jet, a $220 million plane fitted with a master suite, plush leather furnishings, and even a throne-like golden seat. 

Neymar also owes his status as one of football's richest players to savvy entrepreneurship, with NR Sports, a company established by his family, managing his brand and image rights. The Brazilian is also a consistent collaborator with stars from music, cinema, and other industries.

A highly successful businessman following his playing days, former Wigan Athletic owner and founder of JJB Sports, Dave Whelan, is the seventh richest footballer in the world. 

Although most famous as the overseer of Wigan's stunning ascent to the Premier League, which peaked in a memorable FA Cup triumph over Manchester City, Whelan’s financial journey kicked off with Whelan Discount Stores before he founded and sold sportswear retail chain JJB Sports for £190 million in 2007. 

Despite now taking on a spectator role in football and business, Whelan, once Britain's richest footballer, boasts an impressive estimated net worth of £175 million, surpassing top football stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. 

Whelan departed the club in 2015 after 20 years, but his legacy is enshrined in the self-constructed DW Stadium, which Wigan Athletic calls home.

Having built a significant business empire with his partner, Helena Seger, former Juventus, AC Milan, Inter, Barcelona, PSG, and Manchester United player Zlatan Ibrahimovic places eighth among the richest footballers in the world. 

Besides his substantial earnings in wages during his footballing days, the Swede’s primary venture is real estate, with investments in multiple properties ranging from assets in Malmo and Are to the Stockholm archipelago. 

With his dealings managed by Unknown AB, the same company overseeing his brand and intellectual rights, Zlatan's most notable high-profile project, which reportedly cost 110 million SEK (£8.5 million), is the renovation of a former church in central Stockholm into a luxury 1,000-square-metre townhouse. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has bolstered his standing as one of football's wealthiest players through brand collaborations with Vitamin Well and Volvo, which reported an over 200% sales increase during their campaign with the enigmatic sportsman. 

His wife Helena Seger plays a crucial, albeit unofficial, role in managing his business affairs and is responsible for much of Ibrahimovic's commercial success. 

Along with the profits, Zlatan has also suffered heavy losses, first in his majority stake in the padel courts company Downtheline Holding, which was negatively affected by a post-pandemic decline in the sport, and also in his self-launched clothing line, A-Z, which was ultimately shut down after a two-year loss of around 200 million SEK. 

Ibrahimovic can also not be termed a successful football club owner, as his Swedish football club Hammarby, which he acquired a 47% stake in through association with AEG Sweden AB, has not seen significant progress since his involvement. 

In fact, club members have made several unsuccessful attempts to repurchase the shares from the Swedish legend who promised to elevate the Scandinavian club to new heights. 

Although not officially part of the managerial team, Ibrahimović is senior adviser to AC Milan through his association with RedBird Capital Partners, where he plays a key role in the club's internal decisions as RedBird’s proxy.

Although his €30 million gross annual salary at new club Real Madrid is significantly lower than the €70 million he was receiving at his peak in PSG, it's enough to position Mbappé as one of La Liga’s highest ever earners and football's ninth richest footballer. 

Due to unique negotiating terms during his transfers, Mbappé received a signing bonus of €11 million and €100 million following his moves to PSG and Real Madrid.

He is also poised to ascend this football wealth ranking in the coming years due to his unprecedented image rights of 80% at Real Madrid. 

Earning around €40.7 million from both his salary and endorsements, Mbappé was the world's highest-paid footballer in 2022, supplementing his income with major sponsorships with global brands like Nike, Hublot, Dior, and Oakley that generated an additional €18 million annually. 

With his holding company ODDZ encompassing several ventures, including Octagon Latin America Agency, Ronaldo TV, Beyond Films, Wayz Travel, and Base, Ronaldo Fenômeno, an unstoppable force of nature in his heyday, is the 10th richest footballer in the world. 

The Brazilian icon bolstered his financial coffers by 109 million euros (R$ 600 million) in April 2024 with the sale of his stake in Cruzeiro to entrepreneur Pedro Lourenço, having invested only R$ 50 million in the club. 

Ronaldo, who still holds substantial shares in Real Valladolid of Spain and USL side Fort Lauderdale Strikers, is also the proprietor of the agency 9ine Sports & Entertainment, which discovered Neymar.

The former Real Madrid star, who has a franchise of football schools that have expanded to 28 locations across Brazil and Florida, launched R9 Gestão Patrimonial in 2018, focussing on managing the wealth of football players. 

The company augmented its might after a recent merger with Galápagos Capital to form Galáticos Capital, continuing to manage the assets of various athletes, including Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal. 

Tara Sports, a sports management agency based in Madrid, also plays a crucial role in facilitating his club acquisitions.