Footballers are on extravagant wages and are undoubtedly among the richest paid athletes in the world. Here is a list of the top 10 richest footballers in the world in 2021.
We look at the top 10 richest footballers in the world. In this modern era, football players are on extravagant wages and are undoubtedly among the world’s richest athletes.
The football world has produced many amazingly talented players in different football leagues with lots of skills that have brought joy to football fans worldwide.
We have also witnessed some remarkable coaches in the various leagues, football tactics, and many football vibes.
Even though these top football players have not been performing very well recently, they still maintain their massive net worth as the richest players in the world.
Football remains one of the richest sports in the world and continues to maintain its value when it comes to the net worth of football players.
Below is a detailed list of the top 10 richest football and soccer players in the world in 2021.
Top 10 richest soccer players in the world
- Faiq Bolkiah – net worth of $20.00 Billion
- Lionel Messi – Net Worth of $600.00 Million
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Net Worth of $500.00 Million
- Neymar Jr – Net Worth of $200.0 Million
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Net Worth of $195.00 Million
- Gareth Bale with a Net Worth of $150.00 Million
- Paul Pogba – Net Worth of $125.00 Million
- Andres Iniesta – Net Worth of $123.00 Million
- 9. Mesut Ozil – Net Worth of $120 million
- 10. Eden Hazard – Net Worth of $100.00 Million
1. Faiq Bolkiah – net worth of $20.00 Billion
Faiq Bolkiah is the richest soccer player in the world among the top ten richest football players in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $20 m. Faiq Bolkiah being the richest footballer player in the world is due to his roots.
He is from the royal family of Brunei.
Faiq Bolkiah is the richest football player in the world in 2021 with a net worth of $20 billion
Faiq Bolkiah is a professional footballer and also the son of the Prince of Brunei, Jefri Bolkiah. Faiq Bolkiah currently plays as a midfielder for Portuguese club Marítimo.
Fraiq Bolkiah’s uncle Hassanal Bolkiah is the Sultan of Brunei, an oil-rich country. The 22-year-old player holds dual citizenship of Brunei and the United States as he was born in Los Angeles, United States.
Faiq loves football so much and decided to pursue it as his career. He played most of his youth career in different clubs in the English Premier League, including Southampton, Chelsea, Reading and Arsenal.
The Midfielder signed his first Professional contract with Leicester City on a three-year contract. He further extended a one-year contract with Leicester in 2019.
In the 2020 transfer window, Faiq joined Portuguese club Maritimo on a free transfer on September 23rd 2020. Faiq captains the Brunei national team and has made five appearances for his country and scored one goal.
2. Lionel Messi – Net Worth of $600.00 Million
Lionel Mesi is the 2nd richest footballer in the world among the top ten richest soccer players in 2021, with a net worth of $600 m.
Lionel Messi is also one of the most decorated footballers in the world. His style of football reminds us of the late Diego Maradona. His eye for goals, dribbling skills, awareness is sublime.
Messi started his football career in the Barcelona academy playing in the Barcelona C and Barcelona B teams before moving to the senior team.
According to Forbes Records, in 2020, Lionel Messi is also the 2nd highest-paid athlete in the world in 2021, behind his famous Conor McGregor, with an annual earning of $130 Million.
Messi has 151 caps for Argentina, with 76 goals. Lionel Messi captains the Argentina national team.
Messi has different endorsements that have pushed him to become one of the richest footballers in the world in 2021, including Gatorade, Adidas, Huawei, Lay’s, Mastercard, Pepsi, Hawkers Gatorade and Ooredoo.
According to Forbes, Messi gained $28 million from Pepsi, Turkish Airlines, Gillette, etc. In 2019, he earned $35m from endorsements, which pushed him up in the top ten richest footballers in the world in 2021.
Messi has a mansion in Barcelona worth over $1.5 million. He also has many expensive cars, including Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti, Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradal, Audi R8 Spyder, Maserati GranTurismo S, Lexus RX 450h, Range Rover Vogue and others.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Net Worth of $500.00 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo is the 2nd richest football player in the world in the list of top richest footballers in the world with a net worth of around $500 million.
Ronaldo is one of the most decorated football players in the world who has played in different top clubs in Europe, including his childhood club Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid Juventus in Italian Serie A and now move to Manchester United.
According to Forbes records, in 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo is the 3rd highest-paid athlete in the world behind Lionel Messi, with an annual earning of $120 m.
His net worth also increased due to his endorsement worth $47 million and prizes such as five Ballon d’Or, FIFA World Player of the Year, etc. Also, that has helped him to become one of the richest footballers in the world.
C. Ronaldo’s salary in Juventus in the 2021 season is roughly $663,000 per week. The superstar recently broke a record as the only footballer to score 100 goals for three different clubs.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the 2nd world richest football player in the world
Ronaldo is also the most followed athlete in the world, hitting over 200 million followers on social media in 2020. He was also the first soccer player in history to earn 1 billion dollars.
Ronaldo has earned more than 179 caps in his national team in Portugal and has scored 109 goals making him the joint highest goal scorer on an international level in the world with Ali Daei.
Ronaldo is one of few players who signed a lifetime deal with Nike, worth $ 1 billion. His other endorsements are Electronic Arts, Altice, DAZN, Herbalife, MTG, Egyptian Steel etc.; it’s almost impossible to keep track of them, claims Forbes.
The superstar has always shown his love for cars by acquiring different customised vehicles. He has a total of 19 cars that are worth over $4.9 million.
His cars are Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI, a Bugatti Veyron worth $ 1.7 million, Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 worth $ 3,18,000, a Bentley GT Speed worth $ 220,000, Aston Martin DB9 $ 200,000, Audi R8, $ 150,000 and others.
4. Neymar Jr – Net Worth of $200.0 Million
Despite his young age, Brazillian playmaker Neymar Jr is the fourth richest football player in the world in 2021 among the top ten richest players in the world, with a net worth of $200 million.
Neymar’s fine salaries and endorsement has made him one of the richest footballers in the world
Neymar currently plays as a winger for French champions Paris-Saint German, and he is regarded as one of the most skilful football players in the world.
According to Forbes’s latest rankings, he is the sixth highest-paid athlete in the world in 2021, with an earning of $95.0 Million.
$70.5 million of his income comes from his salaries, while $25 million comes from his endorsements. Playing for Barcelona and PSG has helped him reach such miles as one of the richest footballers in the world in 2021.
Neymar has many endorsement deals such as Panasonic, Air Jordan, L’Oreal or Gillette and his latest contract with Puma after leaving his long term partner Nike.
The Brazilian international is currently the Brazilian national team captain and has scored 64 goals in 103 appearances for Brazil.
He has also won many individual awards, including the World Soccer Young Player of the Year, FIFA Puskás Award, FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball, etc.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Net Worth of $195.00 Million
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedish magician, is the 5th richest football player in the world in 2021 among the top ten richest footballers in the world, with a net worth of around $195 m.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a lot of assets and receives huge salaries that earned him a spot in the list of the richest football players in the world
Ibrahimovic is a Swedish professional football player that currently plays for the Italian Serie club AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic has also played for different clubs in Europe, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris-Saint German, AC Milan and Manchester United.
Zlatan is a top footballer with an excellent aerial presence. His physique makes him one of the toughest strikers to face and has been a torment to various top defenders he has faced across the six leagues he has played in his career.
Currently, Ibrahimovic earns an annual salary worth €3.5 million. He also has many endorsement deals worth over $10 million per year, including Nike, Microsoft Xbox, Nivea, Samsung, and Volvo.
The striker captained Sweeden’s team and scored 62 goals in 116 caps for his country. In the 2021 Euro qualification, Zlatan returned to the Sweeden squad in a 1-0 win against Georgia after four years of retirement.
Ibrahimovic owns three luxurious houses in Sweden worth over $14 million and has different expensive cars, including Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Gallardo, Audi S8, Maserati Gran Turismo and Volvo C30 T5.
6. Gareth Bale with a Net Worth of $150.00 Million
Wales’ striker Gareth Bale joins the list as the 6th richest football player in the world among the top ten richest footballers in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $150 m.
Gareth Bale has earned lots of Money in his football and endorsements which placed him as the seventh richest footballer player in the world
Gareth Bale is a professional football player who plays as a winger for Tottenham Hotspur in English Premier League on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. He is regarded as one of the fastest footballers in the world.
Gareth Bale joined Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2013 in a world record fee of £85.3 million from Tottenham Hotspur.
Being regarded as one of the best footballers in the world, Bale’s contract with Real Madrid earned him £15 million annually, which has made him one of the world’s richest football players in 2021.
In 2020, Gareth Bale signed a contract with Tottenham worth over 10 million euros per annum.
Bale also has different endorsement deals worth over £10 million per year, including his deals with Adidas, EA Sports, Lucozade, BT Sport, Nissan Motor, Konami and Foot Locker.
Bale is currently the captain of his country Wales and has scored 33 goals in his 96 appearances for Wales.
7. Paul Pogba – Net Worth of $125.00 Million
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is the 7th richest football player in the world in the list of top richest footballers in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $125 m.
Paul Pogba is the tenth richest football player in the world
Pogba is one of the most famous footballers in the world and plays as a midfielder for Manchester United in the Premier League and the French national team.
He was once the most expensive player in the world when he rejoined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of €105 million.
His weekly salary in Manchester United is worth over £290,000 per week and has helped boost his net worth, and he also has an endorsement with Adidas, which is valued at £31 million per year.
Pogba owns different beautiful and expensive cars, including Mercedes GLS 4X4, Lamborghini Aventador, Audi RS6 Power R, Rolls-Royce Wraith, Bently Flying Spur, Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 812 Superfast and others.
8. Andres Iniesta – Net Worth of $123.00 Million
Barcelona’s legend and midfield maestro Andres Iniesta is the 8th richest football player in the world among the top ten richest footballers in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $123 m.
Andreas Iniesta, who no longer plays for the Spanish national team, was one of the world’s best midfielders in Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Iniesta made 131 appearances for Spain scoring 13 times.
Andres Iniesta is the 7th richest football player in the world
Iniesta currently plays for Japanese club Visel Kobe. He was the former captain of Barcelona before the current captain Lionel Messi.
Iniesta was instrumental and a prominent figure in the Spanish team that won the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. He scored the winning goal in the tournament’s final match against the Netherlands, assisted by former Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas in the dying minute of the match.
Spending most of his career in Barcelona, Iniesta earned a weekly salary of $240,000 per week, around $11.5 million per year.
When he left Barcelona to join Visel Kobe, Iniesta started making a weekly salary worth over $600,000, pushing his net worth high to become one of the richest footballers in the world in 2021.
Iniesta also has some fabulous endorsement deals, including UFX.com, Nissan, and Nike, for which he reportedly earns around $5 million per year. Iniesta also has the highest share of $400,000 in Albacete Football Club, a football club in Spain.
9. Mesut Ozil – Net Worth of $120 million
Mesut Ozil is the 9th richest footballer in the world among the top ten richest footballers in the world in 2021. His lucrative contract with English football club Arsenal in the past years has helped him to earn a spot in the list of the top richest footballers in the world in 2021.
Mesut Ozil is the 9th richest footballers in the world in 2021
The talented midfielder signed a contract with Arsenal that supposed to end in 2021 in a vast deal worth £350,000. Still, it was later terminated after a misunderstanding with the Arsenal board and manager Mikel Arteta.
Mesut Ozil currently plays as a midfielder for the Turkish club Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Super Lig since terminating his contract with Arsenal in 2020, with Arsenal paying part of his salary.
Having enjoyed mouth-watering salaries in his early days in Real Madrid and Arsenal, Ozil has made so much wealth increasing his net worth to $120 million to become one of the richest footballers in the world.
Adding to Mesut Ozil’s salaries is his sponsorship contract in the past years, which has also helped him make it to the top ten richest footballers in 2021. His endorsements include Adidas, Beats Electronics, Mercedes-Benz.
Since moving to Fenerbahçe in 2020, Mesut has only played few matches for the club due to an injury setback that ruptured his ankle ligament.
10. Eden Hazard – Net Worth of $100.00 Million
Former Chelsea and Real Madrid player Eden Hazard is the 10th richest footballer among the world’s top ten richest footballers in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $100 m.
Eden Hazard is the number 9 richest footballer in the world
Eden Hazard is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. Hazard, who has played for Chelsea, was once the highest-paid player in the club when he earned an annual salary of $15.4 million.
Currently, his weekly salary with Real Madrid is over 550,000 pounds per week, and that raised his net worth to become one of the top ten richest football players in the world in 2021.