When it comes to footballers' wealth Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the names that come first into many people, however that is not the case as 23-year-old Faiq Bolkiah has been rated above them in terms of wealth.
According to UK Sun, the footballer who plays in Portugal for Maritimo, is one of the heirs to Hassanal Bolkiah’s Ksh 1.95 trillion(£13billion) fortune.
Hassanal Bolkiah is the Sultan of Brunei, an oil-rich country in South East Asia. Born in Los Angeles, Bolkiah holds both Bruneian and American citizenships.He was educated at Bradfield College in Great Britain.
Bolkiah has been described as “the richest footballer in the world”, with an estimated net worth of ksh 2 trillion($20billion).
His father is Jefri Bolkiah, the brother of the oil tycoon, making Faiq a member of their royal family, making him one of the richest living footballers.
In 2009, while as a member of A.F.C. Newbury, Bolkiah signed a one-year deal with Southampton F.C. Academy. He was still with Southampton until at least December 2011.
In 2014, Bolkiah signed a two-year youth contract with Chelsea.
Bolkiah competed in the 2013 Lion City Cup against Corinthians, Eintracht Frankfurt, PSV Eindhoven, and a Singapore youth selection. With his contract with Chelsea set to expire in summer 2016, he left the team in December 2015.
After a trial with Stoke City, he signed for Leicester City on a reported three-year professional contract in March 2016. He further signed a one-year extension to his deal in the summer of 2019.
On 23 September 2020, Bolkiah signed on a free transfer to Marítimo of Portugal’s Primeira Liga and three months later, he made his debut with the under-23 team in a 3–3 home draw against Sporting CP U23 after being named in the starting line-up.
Forty-five days later, he was named as a Marítimo substitute for the first time in a league match against Sporting CP.
On 11 April 2021, he made his senior debut for Marítimo B, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Gondomar.