Fortune of R$110bn! Meet the world's 'richest' player

Fortune of R$110bn! Meet the world's 'richest' player Imagine having a fortune of R$ 110 billion and still looking for a job? Well, that is the reality of Faiq Bolkiah, regarded as the richest football player in the world, who is a free agent at 28. After his contract with Ratchaburi, in Thailand’s top division, came to an end, the forward is now looking for a new team to continue his career. Born in Los Angeles and raised between Brunei and England, Faiq came through the youth ranks of traditional English clubs such as Southampton, Chelsea, and Leicester City. In professional football, his career has been more modest, with spells at Portugal’s Marítimo and Thai sides Chonburi and Ratchaburi. Despite keeping a low profile at the clubs he has played for, the forward holds a leadership role in his country, serving as the current captain of the Brunei national team, for which he has made six appearances. The player’s notoriety does not come from football, but from his impressive fortune, estimated at 18.6 billion euros (around R$ 110 billion). The figure has been widely reported by the press, including the Spanish newspaper Marca, but it remains unverified for one simple reason: tycoons — and royal families — are not publicly traded companies required to disclose their finances. Other sources, such as Celebrity Net Worth, estimate his personal net worth at just US$ 50 million, attributing the billion-euro figure to the wealth of Brunei’s royal family as a whole, and not necessarily to Faiq himself. Bolkiah is the nephew of Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the son of Prince Jefri Bolkiah. But let’s consider the R$ 110 billion figure that has gone viral mainly in Europe regarding Faiq Bolkiah’s fortune. Can you imagine what that could buy in Brazilian football? If he decided to “play Brasfoot” in real life using Transfermarkt’s current valuations for the 2026 Série A, the picture would look like this: The entire Brasileirão in the bag: the combined market value of all players from the 20 clubs in the top division is R$ 11 billion (around €1.87 billion). In other words, Bolkiah could buy the entire league about 10 times over. The league’s heavyweights: Palmeiras has the most expensive squad in the country (R$ 1.30 billion), followed by Flamengo (R$ 1.21 billion). He could buy Verdão’s current squad about 85 times or Rubro-Negro’s 91 times. The complete opposite: Chapecoense has the most modest squad in the competition, valued at R$ 97.46 million (€15.73 million). The billionaire player would have more than enough firepower to buy the entire team over 1,100 times. The most valuable in bulk: the most expensive player currently playing in Brazil is Vitor Roque, valued at €35 million. Bolkiah could pay that amount more than 530 times. If he wanted to build a midfield around newly arrived Flamengo player Lucas Paquetá — also valued at €35 million by Transfermarkt — he could buy his rights the same number of times. Basically, the money he has in the bank would make the investment of Brazilian SAFs look like pocket money. If you had that kind of budget, which team would you buy first? Featured photo: Reproduction/Instagram/Faiq Bolkiah This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.