Dude, I found out something crazy while researching who the richest player in the world is. Like, we think it's Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, but that's far from it. The guy leading is Faiq Bolkiah, nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, with about 20 billion dollars. But that's really family inheritance, it doesn't come from football salaries.

But what caught my attention was Mathieu Flamini, former Arsenal player. After he stopped playing, he founded a bioproducts company and also became a billionaire. In other words, who the richest player in the world is isn't just about scoring on the field, it's about investing outside of it.

Cristiano is in third place with 500 million, earning 220 million a year at Al-Nassr. Messi with 400 million. Neymar with 200 million. The difference is they earned a lot on the field and through advertising, but nothing close to Faiq, who was born rich.

And there's more: who is the richest active player in the world? Cristiano leads easily. The salaries in 2025 were insane even with the Saudi Pro League having reduced. Advertising is worth as much as what they earn on the field.

The most interesting thing is to see that Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Barcelona have market values in the billions. The owners? Saudi investment funds, billionaire families, all very connected. Football has really become a pure financial industry.