Football has always been about more than just goals and trophies. The sport is also one of the most powerful wealth-generating machines on Earth — producing fortunes that rival tech moguls, film studios, and sovereign investment funds. The top 10 richest football players in the world today are not just athletes. They are brands, business owners, investors, and global cultural icons.
In 2025, Cristiano Ronaldo made history by becoming the first footballer ever to reach billionaire status, a milestone confirmed by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League continued to reshape global football economics, pulling established stars with contracts that would of been unimaginable a decade ago. And a quiet Bruneian prince — a man most football fans have never even seen play — sit above them all.
This is the definitive, fully updated ranking of the top 10 richest football players in the world in 2025–2026, with verified net worth estimates, wealth breakdowns, and the storys behind the fortunes.
Overview of the Top 10 richest football players in the world
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Current Club/Status | Estmated Net Worth |
| 1 | Faiq Bolkiah | Bruneian | Active (Thai Leage) | ~$20 billion |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portuguese | Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) | $1.2–$1.4 billion |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Argentine | Inter Miami (MLS) | ~$1 billion |
| 4 | David Beckham | English | Retired / Owner | ~$700 million |
| 5 | Neymar Jr. | Brazilian | Santos (Brazil) | ~$450 million |
| 6 | Ronaldo Nazário | Brazilian | Retired | ~$325 million |
| 7 | Kylian Mbappé | French | Real Madrid | ~$250 million |
| 8 | Karim Benzema | French | Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) | ~$200 million |
| 9 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Swedish | Retired | ~$190 million |
| 10 | Wayne Rooney | English | Retired / Manager | ~$170 million |
1. Faiq Bolkiah: $20 Billion (The Royal Outlier)
Nationality: Bruneian-British | Current Status: Active Southeast Asia Professional Athlete
The first question to answer is who is the richest footballer in the world. The answer is someone known by very few football fans and who has never played inline with the greats.
Faiq Bolkiah is related to Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, which makes him part of a wealthy family. The small, oil-rich Southeast Asian monarchy is one of the few absolute monarchies in the world. His family has a right to Brunei’s approximately $20 billion. Oil and gas revenues, which make up around half of Brunei’s GDP, help finance the Sultan of Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund, which is estimated to have about $73 billion.
Faiq’s football career is not as financially successful, but is still good. His career started in England with the youth academies of Leicester City and Chelsea and moved on to professional leagues in Portugal (Primeira Liga) and Thailand (Thai League) as well as playing for the Brunei national team. Current estimates put his salary at around $35,000. In comparison, his salary is what Cristiano Ronaldo earns in about four minutes of playing for Al Nassr.
To put numbers into perspective: for 90-100 years, Ronaldo’s annual contract, which is the most lucrative in football’s history, could be paid out of Bolkiah’s 20 billion dollar fortune, and there would be funds left over. Bolkiah is the richest on this list. More importantly, he is richer than the top ten combined.
Bolkiah’s spot on the footballers’ wealth lists is just a technicality. He plays a sport for a living, and thus, he is eligible. However, he did not earn any of his wealth playing football. To many analysts, he is better described as a footballer from a royal family. The rest of the list plays football professionally, and as a result, they earned their wealth playing football, which is a phenomenon in football economics.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo: $1.2-$1.4 Billion (First Self-Made Billionaire in Football)
Nationality: Portuguese | Club: Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia
While Bolkiah is the outlier, Bolkiah is the real story at the top of this list. The 2025 Bloomberg Billionaires Index confirmed Ronaldo as the first self-made football billionaire — no royal family, no luck, no inheritance. The history of football is the history of Ronaldo playing football for three decades of elite football with a sharp intuition for business and promotion.
Ronaldo has an incredible origin story, growing up poor in Madeira, Portugal, with a young, deceased, alcoholic father and a struggling family. He has recounted his childhood experiences of waiting outside McDonald’s to receive leftover food from the employees. It is this history of poverty and McDonald’s, that foregrounds that his current wealth as the first confirmed billionaire in the sport, the owner of the global brand empire, and the most followed person across the worldwide social media platforms, with 650 million followers, is one of the most inspirational examples of a person triumphing against all odds and escaping from poverty in the history of the sport.
His Al-Nassr salary is estimated at between $224 million and $241 million per year, on a contract issued by the Saudi Arabian government that is largely tax-free. His contract was renewed for an additional two years in June 2025, for an estimated total of $620 million. This contract also included an ownership award of a 15% stake in Al Nassr, which operates as a team ownership stake, like the one Beckham has with Inter Miami, and Messi is in the process of securing for his MLS involvement. Not considering salary, Ronaldo’s commercial portfolio is gigantic. Through Nike’s lifetime partnership,
He receives around $18 million a year in guaranteed sponsorship money, in addition to a stream of royalties from the sale of CR7 products. The CR7 line encompasses clothing, fragrances, eyewear, footwear, underwear… and even gyms, which in 2025 will generate a whopping $50 million. The Pestana CR7 hotel chain, in collaboration with the Pestana Hotel Group, includes luxury hotels in Lisbon, Madrid, New York, Marrakech, and Funchal, with a hotel in Riyadh opening in 2026. December 2025 also saw his first tech endorsement when he became the face of the AI search company Perplexity, and he again became the star Nike endorser for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, wearing the golden Mercurial boots.
3. Lionel Messi: ~$1 Billion (The Quiet Billionaire)
Nationality: Argentine | Club: Inter Miami CF, MLS
If Ronaldo’s wealth is the most conspicuous in football, then Lionel Messi’s is the most inconspicuous, but equally impressive. The Argentine is considered the greatest player of all time with his record seven Ballon d’Or awards and his 2022 FIFA World Cup victory. Messi easily outclassed a generation of his rivals with his extraordinary blend of gifted footballing and technical abilities.
He is now on par with Ronaldo, being one of the few billion-dollar players with a net worth of around $1 billion. However, the financial journeys of the two are different. Ronaldo made sure to expand his salary at every chance. Messi went a different way, as he took the Inter Miami deal in 2023 after declining a more lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia. This shift was in with a lot more long-term financial rationale than people gave it credit for.
Around a $12 million contract, the deal also contained an Adidas-Major League Soccer revenue-sharing agreement, an arrangement to help fund Messi’s equity stake in the future MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and, eventually, a deal to help fund Messi’s equity stake in the Inter Miami franchise after he retires.
Mess’s arrival in Miami burst the financial restraints that Major League Soccer had put in place. It became almost impossible for fans to buy tickets to watch Inter Miami play, as, before he signed, the lowest-price ticket was $29. As Messi’s arrival was announced, tickets were re-listed for $467. The range of resale prices even reached $20,000. Miami’s Instagram became the most popular soccer page in America, surpassing the pages for the English Premier League teams.
Forbes projects Messi’s 2025 annual earnings to be around $130 million from on-field earnings and brand partnerships worth about $60 million. His brand partnerships span companies such as Adidas, Mastercard, Lay’s, Budweiser, and his sports drink, Más+ by Messi. Messi owns the MiM Hotels chain. The Leo Messi Foundation established a funding pathway for healthcare and education for thousands of children in Argentina and Spain.
4. David Beckham: ~$700 Million (The Blueprint for Post-Career Wealth)
Nationality: English | Status: Retired footballer/President and Co-Owner, Inter Miami CF
David Beckham retired from professional football in May 2013, from Paris Saint-Germain. In the years following his retirement, his wealth has expanded at a pace that his wealth never expanded during his football career. This is one of the many reasons he is often described as the original source for post-elite football wealth.
Estimates for his combined net worth with wife Victoria Beckham are around $700 million. However, the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List placed their combined net worth at £1.185 billion, making Beckham Britain’s first billionaire sportsman. In a year, the value of David Beckham’s Inter Miami increased exponentially, and over the same year his wife Victoria extended her business to include a fashion and beauty business worth over £100 million annually.
The biggest part of Beckham’s post-football earnings is from selling shares of Inter Miami CF. It has become one of the most lucrative parts of the sport for Beckham, and it was even more impressive that Beckham saw the potential of this investment in 2007. That year, when Beckham signed with the L.A. Galaxy, he was clever enough to add a clause to his contract that allowed him the opportunity to buy an MLS franchise for $25 million. Beckham took that option in 2014, and by 2025, the MLS franchise was worth $1.35 billion, a $25 million to $1.35 billion investment return for Beckham.
Just 12 months after, the franchise could be worth $11 billion due to 2023’s addition of Lionel Messi to the franchise, as well as the yet to be completed Miami Freedom Park. Beckham has a 10–15% ownership in Inter Miami. Besides his portion of Inter Miami, he has an ownership stake he shares with the Class of ’92 members of Manchester United of Salford City FC, a whisky brand, a lucrative lifetime contract with Adidas he signed in 2003, and sponsorships with Tudor, Maserati, SharkNinja, Giorgio Armani, and travel ambassador for Qatar. Beckham’s DB Ventures brand holding company sold most of its equity to Authentic Brands in February 2022 for a value of $269 million.
5. Neymar Jr.: ~$450 Million (The Highest Earner, The Biggest Spender)
Nationality: Brazilian | Club: Santos FC, Brazil
Neymar Jr. is a financial mystery in the world of sports. He ranks extremely high in the all-time football career earnings charts, but the NBA star’s net worth of $450 million reflects that perhaps he hasn’t been great at holding on to his wealth. This discrepancy has led to speculation from fans, agents, and analysts.
The earnings history is quite impressive. His move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 is still the record for the most expensive football transfer ever, even after adjusting for inflation, with PSG paying a whopping €222 million. Neymar was paid about €36 million per year by PSG. Neymar’s next transfer to Al-Hilal, the Saudi Pro League team, was worth a stunning £129.2 million, a record by itself. Neymar injured his knee and spent a lot of time on the sidelines while he played for Al-Hilal, and in 2025, he signed for his original team, Santos.
Neymar grew his earnings significantly through smart business deals and sponsorships with companies like Red Bull and Puma. His management company, NR Sports, controls the business bookings and image rights for Neymar. He has a private jet worth $10 million and a yacht worth $7 million, showing the way his career has prioritised a flashy lifestyle. He has participated in movie and TV projects, including Money Heist, showing that his interest in Neymar stretches beyond football.
Neymar has made a very important move back to his first club, Santos, which has made him a lot less money than what he made in Saudi Arabia. This move helped him a lot off the field, but if he is able to make more money from this point on, it has entirely to do with what he does with the money he has made.
6. Ronaldo Nazário (“R9”): ~$325 Million (The Legend Who Bought Clubs)
Nationality: Brazilian | Status: Retired / Football Club Owner
Ronaldo Nazario (known as R9) is a Brazilian ex-footballer and currently a football club owner. He is known around the world as “O Fenômeno,” and he is one of the best attackers ever to play the game. He has won the FIFA World Cup twice and the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times, and he has inspired many strikers with his fantastic style of play.
Elite contracts at Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Corinthians earned him large paychecks. His career began to take off in the 1990s and lasted well into the 2000s. He bid farewell to the sport after the 2006 World Cup. He is immortalised in sports history after scoring both goals in Brazil’s victory in the final against Germany in the 2002 World Cup.
At the end of his career, his decisions regarding his finances became even more interesting than those of other footballers of his time. Following the Beckham model of converting football fame into equity, he purchased a stake in Real Valladolid of Spain’s La Liga in 2018, becoming the club’s majority owner. Later, in 2023, he sold a significant portion of that stake to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, making a lot of money in the process. In Brazil, he started a stake in one of Brazil’s oldest teams, Cruzeiro, and made a huge impact in two different leagues. In addition to this, he co-founded an esports club in partnership with Agüero, an Argentine international, called Krü.
His stake in the clubs, as well as his wealth accumulated from his career in football, makes his total worth around $325 million.
7. Kylian Mbappé: ~$250 Million (Future Billionaire)
Nationality: French | Club: Real Madrid, Spain
26 year old Kylian Mbappé is the youngest on our list. He also has the most dramatic long-term wealth trajectory. His net worth, currently sitting at $250 million, is already impressive. Given his career, endorsements, and deals, he could reach the level of wealth of Ronaldo and Messi in the next 10 years.
His free transfer from PSG in 2024 to Real Madrid secured Mbappé one of the most lucrative contracts in European football. He will earn between €70 and €80 million a year at the Santiago Bernabéu based on his salary and bonuses, in addition to a lucrative deal for his image rights. The deal is unprecedented because of the extra financial benefit, which includes the rights to his image. Mbappé has guaranteed himself the rights to his own image in his PSG and Real Madrid deals
His endorsements include Nike (a longstanding major contract), Hublot (luxury timepieces), EA Sports (gaming), and Dior (high fashion) — an impressive range that appeals to the categories reflecting his crossover appeal beyond sport. Winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup at 19, scoring in the 2022 World Cup final, and his continued success at PSG and Real Madrid have given him a level of international marketability that few footballers have, and of those, very few in any other generation.
In 2025 Forbes had him in the top five highest-earning footballers, and in early 2026, Reuters reported that he is 100% fit and fully part of the plans of Real Madrid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. That World Cup will be the one that defines his career and cements his commercial value for his generation.
8. Karim Benzema: ~$200 Million (The Saudi Accelerant)
Nationality: French | Club: Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia
Karim Benzema is one of the more gifted and naturally talented players of his generation. He spent 14 years as a player at Real Madrid, scored 354 goals, won 5 UEFA Champions League titles, and in 2022, after a long wait, he finally won his Ballon D’Or. After all of that he signed a contract at Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League which is reportedly worth in excess of $100 million per annum.
Before Saudi Arabia made its move in the summer of 2023, Benzema’s commercial income was stable but not impressive, as his sponsorships with Adidas, EA Sports, Hublot, Fendi, Volkswagen, and Bwin were the result of years of play at the peak of European football. His Real Madrid salary, which was around $20 million per year, and was paid for most of his time at the club, was relatively uneventful in comparison to Ronaldo and Messi.
This deal with Saudi Arabia changed everything. Playing for Al-Ittihad, reports claim that the deal was one of the highest in the league. This deal, along with others, contributed greatly to creating a net worth of around $200 million. Compared to fading Saudi signings, Benzema’s Ballon d’Or and extraordinary Champions League career will always keep him at the forefront of global football.
9. Zlatan Ibrahimović: ~$190 Million (The Brand Who Trademarked His Own Name)
Nationality: Swedish | Status: Retired / Senior Consultant, AC Milan
Ibrahimović enjoyed a 22-year-long career at the elite level and played for several clubs, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, both PSG and AC Milan, Manchester United, LA Galaxy, and back to Milan, winning league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France. His retirement from all professional football activities took place in 2023. Following his retirement, he joined AC Milan as a senior consultant through the club ownership structure with RedBird Capital Partners.
PSG paid Ibrahimović €14–15 million per year tax free for the period that he played in France, while his 2016 contract with Manchester United was reported to be worth $35 million with bonuses. His net worth stands at an estimated $190 million. His trademark of Zaftan to create a legal asset introduces a stream of licensing income to Ibrahimović. This fencing of his name was a rare example of financial acumen for a professional footballer that contributed to Ibrahimović’s income while he was retired from football.
Ibrahimović enjoyed a variety of sponsorship deals with Nike, Volvo, Vitamin Well, H&M, Nivea, Samsung, and Xbox, the Volvo advertisement enjoying a 200% increase in sales for the duration of the advertisement. He has also created his own brand of sports apparel, A-Z Sportswear. His partner, Helena Seger, has been surveying and managing his other business interests and has been credited for her exceptional skill throughout his career, along with his real estate holdings, including the converted medieval church in Stockholm valued at approximately 110 million SEK.
10. Wayne Rooney: ~$170 Million (The English Lion)
Nationality: English | Status: Retired footballer / Football Manager**
Wayne Rooney is a legend of English football. His finances mirror a steady story rather than big financial booms, unlike many people higher on this list.
Rooney was an Everton academy player who made his debut at 16. He was one of the best footballers of his time, especially during his time at Manchester United, where he won five Premier Leagues, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup and set the record for the club’s most goals with 253 goals — breaking the record set by Sir Bobby Charlton in 2017.
When Rooney was at his best with United, he was paid about £300,000 per week, or £15.6 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid footballers in the Premier League. Endorsements included a long-term deal with Nike and other deals in the UK and around the world. Later career moves to DC United in MLS and a second spell at Everton added to his wealth. His appointment as a football manager at Derby County, Birmingham City, and Plymouth Argyle meant that Rooney was still active and made him publicly present after he finished playing.
Rooney has been open about the difficulties he has faced personally throughout his career and how they have affected his business persona at different times. His career earnings and financial self-discipline show the earnings of Rooney’s earnings being worth about $170 million, even if there are some peers who have had more businesslike and entrepreneurial drive than Rooney.
The Saudi Arabia Effect: How One League Rewrote Football’s Financial Rules
To talk about footballers and their wealth in 2025, we have to appreciate how the Saudi Pro League impacted football finances in just under 2 years.
When Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines for choosing Al Nassr at about $200 million a year in December 2022, the football world was not surprised. A money-driven, end-of-career pick. The following year completely challenged that argument.
Quickly after Ronaldo, many high-profile and competitive footballers made the same choice. Saudi Arabia was offering wages that were multiples of those in Europe. Those footballers picking Saudi Arabia over Europe were originally picking between $150,000 to $200,000 in the UK versus fully guaranteed contracts between $600,000 to $1,000,000 a week.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) is a sovereign wealth fund with roughly $700 billion in assets. It invests oil revenues from the Kingdom into international projects. The four Saudi Pro League clubs PIF owns (Al Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, and Al-Hilal) act as state-sponsored sports projects connecting to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. These projects are used to financially restructure the economy and reduce reliance on oil, while also expanding Saudi Arabia’s global sports and entertainment power.
The impact of this wealth ranking is quite obvious. This marks Ronaldo’s establishment as a billionaire long before it would have been achieved, if it even did occur. Benzema would also not be in the top 10 if it were not for Al-Ittihad. The same contract phenomenon has forced European football clubs (Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, etc.) to offer increasingly lucrative contracts to retain players. This has resulted in increased player earnings throughout the sport.
How Forbes, Bloomberg and Celebrity Net Worth All Disagree (And Why That’s Fine)
A significant area of misunderstanding is the reporting from multiple sources on the same player and how the figures can be so different.
Forbes publishes an annual earnings list. This accounts for the player’s earnings within the 12-month period and is therefore a current income figure. The annual earnings account for salary, bonuses, and endorsements. Ronaldo’s $280 million was a projection for his 2025-2026 earnings, not his total earnings to date.
Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index utilises real-time data to adjust the net worth of individuals by estimating the current values of their assets (business interests, endorsement deals, investments, etc.). This is how Ronaldo’s net worth is estimated to be: $1.2-$1.4 billion.
Estimation methods and reported and published data combined produce net worth estimates that are considered benchmarks. They are by no means exact, but generally helpful.
This is also why Beckham’s income estimates per Forbes report are lower than for other players, but his net worth, as estimated by Bloomberg, is high. Beckham’s income estimates do not account for the value of his ownership in Inter Miami.
It is best to consider all of these numbers as estimates. The value of private companies, undisclosed contracts, real estate holdings, and investment returns are all speculative. The values can be much lower or higher than reported.
FAQs
Who is the richest football player in the world in 2025?
In terms of total net worth, Faiq Bolkiah from Brunei is the first with his estimated royal family wealth of $20 billion. Then comes Cristiano Ronaldo, with his personal football earnings and net worth of $1.2-$1.4 billion. In 2025, Bloomberg confirmed Ronaldo would be the first billionaire in football.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo a billionaire?
Yes, Ronaldo was named a billionaire in 2025 by Bloomberg following his extended contract with Al Nassr. Ronaldo’s wealth stems from his paid Al Nassr contract ($224 – $241 million a year), his lifetime contract with Nike, and his CR7 brand, hotels, and 15% ownership of Al Nassr.
Is Lionel Messi a billionaire?
Mess’s net worth is around $1 billion, meaning that he is almost a billionaire. Since Messi’s contracts with Inter Miami include a salary that allows him to gain money, and later become the owner of the team, this greatly affects his wealth and allows him to make more money than from soccer salaries alone.
Who earns the most money per year in football right now?
Cristiano Ronaldo makes a total of $275 – $280 million a year during the 2025 – 2026 fiscal year, according to Forbes, which takes his Al Nassr salary and endorsements into account. No other player has ever earned this much money in one year.
How did David Beckham get so rich after retiring from football?
The ownership of Inter Miami CF explains much of his wealth after retirement ($25 million purchase in 2014; 2025 valuation of > $1 billion). Also, his lifetime contract with Adidas ($160 million), his role as a tourism ambassador for Qatar ($280 million for a 10-year contract), and the sale of 49% of DB Ventures to Authentic Brands Group for $269 million in 2022 also greatly affected his wealth.
What is Neymar’s net worth in 2025, you’d say?
Expected around $450 million. He has earned loads, ranked among the very best players who boast record transfer fees and some of the most lucrative contracts in the history of the game from Al-Hilal. Yet, he shows a lot of lifestyle spending.
Who is Faiq Bolkiah, and why is he on this list?
Faiq Bolkiah is the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei and is a Bruneian-British professional footballer. His net worth of $20 billion comes entirely from oil money derived from his royal family, and is definitely not from football. He is a qualifying individual of this list because he is an active professional footballer.
Conclusion.
The top ten richest footballers in the world 2025–2026 provide a historic snapshot of how far united commercial interests can go to how to do the right thing at the right time, and how a royal family can throw in a footballer. Some of the names on this list range from Faiq Bolkiah’s 20 billion dollars to a self-made Cristiano Ronaldo, whose wealth stands at 1.4 billion. There is also Beckham’s equity and Messi’s ownership, Neymar’s financial prowess and the image rights strategies of Mbappé.
Football was the vehicle, not the destination. Players who were able to convert their athletic prowess into enduring financial legacies appreciated that the actual game — the game of wealth — goes on much longer than any deals, seasons, or careers. If you love this article, you can check out Top 5 highest paid footballers as well as Cristiano Ronaldo: The Richest Footballer
Sources: Bloomberg Billionaires Index (2025), Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes 2025–26, Celebrity Net Worth, Sunday Times Rich List 2026, Vanguard News, SofaScore, GiveMeSport, Finance Monthly, Essentially Sports, Hustle Fund, Fortune Magazine, Reuters.
