The richest football players in the world

Who are the world's wealthiest football players, and who is the wealthiest of all? Is it Messi or Cristiano? This is a question that many people may ask on a daily basis. Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions.

We all know that football is a popular sport with supporters all over the world, and that soccer players are well-known. This fame may offer them several benefits, including the potential to make them quite wealthy. The issue now is, who are the richest football players in the world right now?

There are many ways for football players to earn thousands of dollars every week, besides their permanent salary. In fact, they can earn a good amount of fortune from their bonuses, sponsorship, and marketing, which can make their income extraordinary. Ok, without further ado, let’s take a look at the

richest football players in the world

.

The wealthiest footballers in the world

Here are

the wealthiest soccer players in the world

right now.

Willian

• Total Net Worth:

  $75 Million

• Club:

  Fulham

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  winger/ attacking midfielder

Number 20 on our list of the

richest football players in the world

is

. The 34-year-old started his playing career at a youth club named Corinthians and since then, has played in many known clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal. Currently, the well-known player is a part of Fulham where he kicks the ball as a winger and attacking midfielder. He also kicks the ball for Brazil national team.

Willian joined Arsenal in 2020 for $266,000/week wages. His current salary exceeds more than $13 million annually at Arsenal. He has been one of the bests in the world of football so far and has achieved many honors and awards, including a UEFA Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2008–09, 2 Premier League titles, the UEFA Europa League in 2018–19, and the FA Cup in 2017–18 with Chelsea, along with many individual and international awards.

Arjen Robben

• Total Net Worth:

  $80 Million

• Club:

  Retired

• Country of birth:

  Netherlands

• Position:

  Winger

The 38-years-old former Dutch player played 96 games for Netherlands national team. As estimated,

is currently one of the

richest footballers in the world

with about $80 million of net worth. The former

player achieved many titles and awards, including 2 Premier League titles, and the 2006-07 FA Cup with Chelsea, the 2007–08 La Liga title with Real Madrid, 8 Bundesliga titles, and the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich.

Sergio Ramos

• Total Net Worth:

  $80 Million

• Club:

  Paris Saint-Germain

• Country of birth:

  Spain

• Position:

  Defender

The current Spain's National team and Paris Saint-Germain player is one of

the richest soccer players in the world

, as his net worth is about $80 Million. The 36-year-old legendary player moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005 & kicked the ball for the club, till eventually he decided to shift to PSG this year. In total

 has won 22 major honors in addition to his individual achievements. To name some, we can mention 5 La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, 5 La Liga Best Defender titles, and many more awards. In 2021 he moved to PSG under a free transfer fee contract as his contract with Real was already expired. His current salary is $20m per season.

Ronaldinho

• Total Net Worth:

  $90 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  attacking midfielder, winger

The 42-year-old first joined Grêmio when he was 18 and continued to be one of the best players in the 21st century. He started playing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2001 and stayed there for the next 2 years. In 2003 he joined Barcelona to be one of their bests till 2008. Later he joined Milan, Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro, Queretaro and finally Fluminense in 2015.

He is known as one of the legends in the world of football with some scenes he has made during his professional career, such as the goal he scored against Venezuela to help Brazil win the Copa America. That goal is still remembered by fans and is thought to be the greatest ever scored in Brazil's long soccer history.

also helped Brazil win its 5th World Cup in 2002, won the FIFA World Player of the Year twice and was included in Pele's FIFA 100 list. No wonder why he is one of the richest football players in the world. Huh?!

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

• Total Net Worth:

  $90 Million

• Club:

  Milan

• Country of birth:

  Sweden

• Position:

  Striker

The 41-year-old player is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world of football in his generation. Through all these years

has played for many well-known teams, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Milan, PSG, Manchester United, and LA Galaxy. As of 2023, he is kicking the ball for Milan and seem to be unstoppable. It is also interesting to know that he’s also one of a few players who has had deals with both Adidas and Nike.

Drogba

• Total Net Worth:

  $90 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  Ivory Coast

• Position:

  Striker

The 44-years-old Ivorian has been one of the greatest players of his generation. The former Phoenix Rising player has kicked the ball for many famous clubs during his playing career, including Chelsea, Shanghai Shenhua, and Montreal. He was eventually retired from football back in 2018. As estimated,

is currently one of the

richest footballers in the world

with about $90 million of net worth.

He has many titles and achievements to his name, including 4 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, and the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League.

Kaká

• Total Net Worth:

  $105 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  Attacking midfielder

is a well-known name for many of us as he was one of the bests during his professional playing career at both club and international level.

During his playing years, he has kicked the ball for many big clubs, including São Paulo, Milan, and Real Madrid, besides Brazil national team.

It has to be said that the legendary Brazilian was one of the biggest earners in the soccer world, besides the lucrative endorsement deals he made with the likes of Sony, Adidas, Armani, and PepsiCo. He also was the first sportsperson to 10 million followers on Twitter which has brought him many opportunities.

Samuel Eto’o Fils

• Total Net Worth:

  $95 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  Cameroon

• Position:

  striker

Apparently,

Fils is not only one of the richest football players in the world, but he is also the richest footballer in Africa, as his net worth is estimated to be $95 million. The former Chelsea player has played for many big clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Mallorca, Inter Milan, Sampdoria, Antalyaspor, and Everton. It is also interesting to know that as a member of the Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics, while he also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002.

Eden Hazard

• Total Net Worth:

  $100 Million

• Club:

  Real Madrid

• Country of birth:

  Belgium

• Position:

  Winger, attacking midfielder

Reportedly, the Belgium superstar is making around $700,000 per week after tax, with bonuses added on top of his base wage, which makes him more than $38 million annually.

moved to

from Chelsea during the 2019 summer transfer window for $111 million. Apart from the income he has from his professional football playing, he holds a wealthy sponsorship deal with Nike, while he is also the face behind Belgian-based Lotus Bakeries. In 2017, Hazard also invested a stake in owning North American Soccer League franchise San Diego 1904 FC.

Francesco Totti

• Total Net Worth:

  $101.6 Million

• Club:

  Retired

• Country of birth:

  Italy

• Position:

  Attacking midfielder, forward

There is no doubt that

is one of the best football players in the 21st century. The 44-year-old who is known as

& Italy legend of all time, was retired from football just four years ago and was referred to as the “golden boy” through his playing career.

The Captain spent his entire career at Roma, where he won a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, 2006 FIFA World Cup, All-Star team for UEFA Euro 2000 and FIFA 2006, five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award. He also won the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the 2010 Golden Foot.

Knowing all these facts, it looks not strange for “The Eighth King of Rome” to be in our list of richest footballers in the world.

Pele

• Total Net Worth:

  $115 Million

• Club:

  Deceased                                   

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  Forward

Known as one of the best players of the 20th century and definitely one of the bests of all time,

 was regarded as a soccer legend for all the football fans. The 80-year-old was voted World Player of the Century by IFFHS in 1999 and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award. He was the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in the football history scoring 1281 goals in 1363 games, which includes unofficial friendlies. This is a Guinness World Record. The legendary rich man's net worth was reported to be around $115 Million.

Andres Iniesta

• Total Net Worth:

  $120 Million

• Club:

  Vissel Kobe

• Country of birth:

  Spain

• Position:

  Central Midfielder

The current

Midfielder is the one who spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons.

has been a very successful player during his professional career and is known as one of the bests in the football world all around the world. It is interesting to know that his move to Vissel Kobe in 2018 has brought him an astonishing amount of money in wages and bonuses. However, that’s not all and the Spanish player is one of the ones to make deals with Nike and Asics which has made him very reach in cash.

Gareth Bale

• Total Net Worth:

  $145 Million

• Club:

  Retired

• Country of birth:

  Wales

• Position:

  Winger

As the next rich player on our list of the richest football players in the world,

is also considered as one of the best soccer players in his generation. Returning to

Hotspur in September 2020. Anyway, like many other players on this list, football was not the only way for Bale to earn money as he also has Sponsorship with Adidas, Lucozade, and BT Sport. The Welshman also has his fair share of business interests including his own sports bar called Elevens in his hometown of Cardiff.

Alexandre Pato

• Total Net Worth:

  $145 Million

• Club:

  Free Agent

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  Forward

The Brazilian player is a free agent now.

move to Orlando City in 2021 under a one year contract. He has also previously kicked the ball for many clubs including

, Chelsea, and São Paulo.

He also has many titles and achievements to his name. He first won the FIFA Club World Cup with Internacional when he was under 20 years old. In 2010 he won a Serie A title with AC Millan. Pato has also won the Golden Boy Award in 2009.

Wayne Rooney

• Total Net Worth:

  $170 Million

• Club:

  Retired

• Country of birth:

  England

• Position:

  Forward, midfielder

Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation,

 has scored many goals for both the England national team and

, in addition to the other clubs he has kicked the ball for.

He was D.C. United’s forward from 2018 to 2019 but then in 2020, the 35-year-old has moved to Derby County where he kicked the ball for one year, before being retired from playing football on 15 January 2021.

He has been awesome all through these years and has won the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, League Cup, UEFA Europa League, and FIFA Club World Cup.

His success over the years at club level and internationally has made him rich in cash, but he has also made endorsement deals with big brands such as Nike, Nokia, Coca-Cola, and Ford which has made him even wealthier.

Neymar

• Total Net Worth:

  $185 Million

• Club:

  Paris Saint-Germain

• Country of birth:

  Brazil

• Position:

  Forward

The next player on our list of

the richest footballers of all time

, is one of the bests in the football world who currently kicks the ball as a forward for French champions, PSG.

has previously kicked the ball for many clubs including Barcelona, where he had some of his brightest days. In 2017 he left Barca, moving to

under a $110m market value and $244.20m fee transfer contract.

His transfer from Barcelona to PSG is known as the most expensive one in the world at $263 million. He currently receives more than $43 million annually, besides the money he is paid for his bonuses, social marketing and sponsorship deals. No wonder why he is the 6th on our list of the richest football players in the world. Don’t you agree?

Dave Whelan

• Total Net Worth:

  $210 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  England

• Position:

  full-back

First, you need to know that the former player is currently 84 and as he was not a famous football player, many may wonder why his name is in our list of

the richest soccer players of all time

 and more specifically why is he the fifth?

Well, though his dad was a coal miner, and he was a player to play just for 10 years, Dave Whelan became a successful business magnate after his playing days.

In fact, it seems like he was born more of a businessperson than a football player, which he fortunately figured out himself.

After being retired from professional soccer, he focused on his chain of supermarkets, Whelan's Discount Stores, which were sold to Ken Morrison, another supermarket chain, for almost 3 million Dollars in 1978.

Just one year before this, he bought sports and fishing store J. J. Bradburn and renamed it to JJB Sports. The company was the empire, which grew throughout the ’80s and ’90s, and eventually became the U.K.’s second-biggest retailer.

However, that is not all, and the wealthy former football player also owned other big companies and clubs, such as DW Sports Fitness, Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Warriors, and Orrell Rugby Union Club.

Lionel Messi

• Total Net Worth:

  $400 million

• Club:

  Paris Saint-Germain

• Country of birth:

  Argentina

• Position:

  Attacker

Did you know that the best football player of all time, is not the first on our list, but the fourth?

The six-time Ballon d'Or and European Golden shoe winner spent most of his entire professional career with

.  

However, that is not all, as the

has had a brilliant performance in international level as well, winning the Copa America after a long run in 2021. He turned into a World Cup champion at Qatar 2022 as well.

In addition, he has an interesting revenue through his sponsorship contracts such as his long time deal with luxury brands Dolce & Gabbana and Audemars Piguet. He is also a global ambassador for brands such as Gillette, Turkish Airlines, Ooredoo, and Tata Motors.

David Beckham

• Total Net Worth:

  $450 Million

• Club:

  retired

• Country of birth:

  England

• Position:

  Midfielder

is one of the bests in the world of football with no doubt, who has played in many teams, including Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain, and the England national team. Currently, he is the president of Inter Miami CF and also is the co-owner of Salford City.

It is interesting to know that he is the first English footballer to become a league titleholder in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States, and France.

Anyway, it has to be said that the former player is not just earning cash from football, but he also has income as a businessperson, a model, and a spokesperson.

Cristiano Ronaldo

• Total Net Worth:

  $500 Million

• Club:

   Al Nassr

• Country of birth:

  Portugal

• Position:

  Forward

Thinking about the best football player in the 21st century, you will definitely remember

and Messi. However, you have to know that though they are the bests, they are not the richest! In fact, Ronaldo is only the second with $450 Million of net worth, while Messi is standing fourth!

In fact, though Ronaldo is professionally the best with the most income from his playing career, there is another player with more amount of fortune than the Portuguese star.

The superstar not only earns the most amount of money per week but he also has his famous brand CR7 in addition to various business ventures including his hotels and clothing line. The Portuguese player will earn €200 million per year in Al Nassr.

Faiq Bolkiah

• Total Net Worth:

  $20 billion

• Club:

   Chonburi

• Country of birth:

  United States

• Position:

  Midfielder

Time to see who’s the richest football player in the world. We bet you didn’t guessed his name unless you already knew about him!

Currently, the Brunei national team player, Faiq Bolkiah, who also kicks the ball as a midfielder for Chonburi is standing first on our list. But the question is how?!

Interestingly he’s the son of Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei, and the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and that’s how he has put Ronaldo, Messi and David Beckham behind, to stand top of the list of the wealthiest soccer players in the world.

Did you enjoy the article? Leave us a comment if you have any other information about these football players and their wealth.

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