It’s not exactly breaking news that modern footballers are paid huge amounts of money, but making five figures a week and having 10-figure net worths is insane. These are the 10 richest footballers of all-time
1. Andres Iniesta
In 2018, Andres Iniesta decided to leave Barcelona and step away from top-level football. He was prepared to take a pay cut and move on, but instead his salary, actually increased. Iniesta was one of the best players in the world in his heyday, a midfield magician who starred alongside Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Busquets. He won nine la Liga titles and four champions leagues at Camp Nou. He also scored the winning goal in the 2010 world cup final and was a key part of the Spain side that triumphed at euro 2008 and euro 2012 at 34 years old. With his career winding down, the Spaniard left one of the biggest clubs in the world to join Vissel Kobe. Now that might sound like an odd move, but when you consider the Japanese side we’re willing to pay Iniesta 30 million dollars a year well, it makes a little bit more sense. Today, he’s worth around 123 million dollars.
2. Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney’s incredible wealth and success were decided by one decision that almost cost him over a hundred million dollars. Some young footballers are barely known when they make their debuts. That wasn’t the case for Rooney. Everyone seemed to know about Everton’s young sensation. When Rooney turns 17 Everton gave him the maximum possible wage, they were allowed to pay him at that age. Rooney’s first contract was worth an incredible 13,000 pounds a week, but the big deals kept coming for Wazza when he joined man united. He was earning 50,000 pounds a week by 2010. The pay had risen to 180,000. It seemed that Rooney’s life-changing decision at just 14 years old wasn’t a bad one. Rooney would go on to become one of the most talented footballers England has ever produced but aged 14 Rooney simply wasn’t enjoying football anymore. So he almost quit. He was getting more and more into boxing and considered taking it up full-time. He’d have likely ended up with just a few thousand in the bank and working a normal job like most of us, but being the talent he was Everton panicked they were desperate to persuade Rooney to keep at it, but they knew the decision layout of their hands in the end, thanks to Everton’s youth team, coach, colin Harvey Rooney didn’t quit, and today has a lucrative property portfolio, has pocketed huge sums from endorsement deals and has a net worth of 160 million dollars.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Many world-class footballers have tales of ranks to riches. Zlatan ibrahimovic is no different. The Swedish striker had a very tough upbringing which we’ll get to in just a moment. Ibrahimovic believes his life experiences have made him the player and the person he is today he’s not done too badly since on the fields all with his bank account emperor’s played for some of the biggest clubs in world football, Ajax, Juve, Inter Bassa, AC Milan, PSG, and Man, united and since 2001, after joining Ajax from the Swedish side, he’s always earned big money, but Zlatan’s come a long way since those difficult times as a kid when Sweden’s social services sent him to live with his dad after his mum was arrested for handling stolen Goods a young Zlatan often went hungry because there was no food in his alcoholic father’s fridge. Thankfully, for Ibrahimovic, his natural footballing talent helped him move on to bigger and better things, and his bold and brash persona makes him a marketer’s dream. Zlatan earns big bugs from his partnerships with brands such as Nike, Volvo, and Nivea. Now, at the age of 40, he has a net worth of 190 million dollars.
4. Neymar
When Neymar was only 14 years old, he had a huge decision to make if he’d chosen a different path, his entire life would have played out differently. After making his name with Santos Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013., he was paid 22 million euros a year at the Camp, Nou, not bad for a boy from a poor family in Sao Paulo in 2017, but one of the most shocking transfers in football history took place when PSG triggered Neymar’s release clause to sign him for 198 million pounds, it’s kind of fascinating to consider whether things would have turned out better or worse for Neymar had he made a different choice as a 14-year-old in 2006.
That was when he was given the chance to join Real Madrid Neymar and his father rejected the offer, as they thought, he’d develop better at Santos anyway, Madrid wouldn’t have been able to match PSGs wage offer. The French giants agreed to pay Neymar an eye-watering 775 500 pounds a week when he joined them in 2017. That instantly made Neymar one of the richest athletes in the world he’s also handsomely paid by his sponsors, which include Puma, Redbull, and Gillette. The Brazilian is now worth around 200 million dollars.
5. Dave Whelan
Dave Whelan was the Wigan chairman when they beat Manchester city in the 2013 fa cup final. His previous involvement in a FA cup final was much much worse. Born in 1936, Whelan was a fullback who played for Blackburn and crew. He helped Blackburn reach the fa cup final in 1916 when they faced wolves at Wembley. It should have been the best day of Wieland’s career. Instead, it was the worst a strong tackle from Norman Dealey left him with a broken leg. Weyland was never the same player again and had to retire aged 30. Footballers weren’t millionaires back then far from it. So we didn’t have to quickly find another way to earn a crust. The Yorkshireman decided to set up a grocery business. It was a success and he sold it to Morrisons for 1.5 million pounds in 1978. Whelan then bought JJB sports, which later became DW sports. He turned the company into one of the biggest sports retailers in the UK Whelan who’s now, 85 years old has a net worth of 210 million dollars.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time and one of the richest athletes on the planet. But at the age of 15, a shocking incident almost forced Ronaldo to quit the game. Cr7 was a phenomenal talent as a teenager, in Manchester. United, famously begged Alex Ferguson, to sign the sporting cp forward after his brilliant performance against them in a friendly Ferguson, listened to his players, and brought Ronaldo to Old Trafford. Even when he was handed a bumper deal worth a hundred and twenty thousand pounds a week. In 2007 he was worth every single penny. That was also the case at Real Madrid, where Ronaldo’s most lucrative deals saw him paid 365 000 pounds a week. That was a bargain, considering the Portuguese scored 450 goals for the club. Ronaldo owes a lot to the doctor who operated on him as a 15-year-old youngster, he was diagnosed with tachycardia. An abnormal heart rate of over 500 beats a minute. He was almost forced to give up football, but successful heart surgery saved his career and his future riches Ronaldo’s fortune is estimated to be more than 500 million dollars. His wealth comes from football endorsement, deals with the likes of Nike and Armani, and his business ventures.
7. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi plays for PSG these days, but he’ll always be associated with Barcelona. However, things could have turned out very very different if another major European club had gotten their way. Messi joined Barcelona’s academy in 2000 after the club agreed to pay for his treatment for a growth hormone deficiency. The argentine’s talent was clear for everyone to see during his days at la Macia. Everyone in Barcelona was excited to see him play for the first team.
On his 18th birthday, Messi signed his first professional contract with a huge 150 million euro release clause that didn’t put into off, though they were so desperate to sign Messi that they triggered that clause and offered to triple his wages, Messi rejected them and stayed with Barcelona. He could have earned more money at inter initially, but over the years Messi was supremely well paid by basa. His biggest deal was worth 168.5 million dollars a year. His net worth today is 600 million dollars, thanks to various footballing contracts and his commercial deals with the likes of Adidas, Pepsi, and MasterCard.
8. David Beckham
Actor-Model businessman, David Beckham, is so famous that some people might not even know that he used to be a Footballer. Alex Ferguson once hinted that his celebrity status harmed his footballing career, but that’s a bit harsh when you look at what Beckham achieved with Manchester united Real Madrid, Milan, PSG and la galaxy Beckham became the highest-paid player on the planet in 2002, when united Handed him a deal worth 90 000 pounds a week, even at that stage, Beckham was raking in dosh from every direction. That’s continued right up to the present day, Beckham has benefited from deals with Samsung Adidas, Gillette, and plenty more. He also has his company DB Limited. Beckham’s net worth is roughly 670 million dollars by some calculations, he’s even richer than the queen of England.
9. Matthew Flamini
Matthew Flamini is wealthier than David Beckham. We know it’s hard to believe. Isn’T him Flamini had a decent career, but most people don’t know he’s one of the wealthiest sportsmen in the entire world and you’ll be even more surprised to find out how he made his money. Flamini was a solid rather than spectacular, player for Arsenal and ac Milan. Arsene Wenger raped him highly, but he wasn’t the type of footballer who set fans' pulses. Racing Flamini wasn’t a flare player. He did the dirty work so that others could shine. He was tenacious, hardworking, and intelligent on the pitch and those very same qualities helped him to become a multi-billionaire office in 2008 Flamini co-founded GF Biochemicals. He aimed to find sustainable alternatives to oil-based products over the years. The company grew and grew and grew, and it’s probably grown even more since you started reading this article. The Frenchman is now worth 14 billion dollars, Flamini retired, from football in 2019, but his bank balance is looking healthier than ever.
10. Faiq Bolkiah
Okay, raise your hand if you’ve heard of Faiq Bolkiah before no that’s exactly what we thought. Bolkiah has a net worth of 20 billion dollars at the age of 23. How is that even possible? We hear your crime well, we can guarantee. The reason is nothing like you’d expect. Bolkiah was born in Los Angeles in 1998. He spent time in the youth academies of Southampton Chelsea and Leicester, but all three clubs let him go. He once had a trial at Arsenal but didn’t get a contract Bolkiah currently plays for Chonburi in Thailand, not exactly the richest football league in the world. So how come the midfielder is so wealthy? Well, if you hadn’t guessed it already, it’s nothing to do with his on-field ability. Bolkiah is a member of the Brunei royal family. His uncle is the current sultan of the tiny, oil-rich nation with an estimated fortune of around 30 billion dollars. No one could accuse Bolkiah of only being in football for the money.