World’s richest footballer is worth billions and could buy Man Utd from Glazers with ease

Only few individuals are able to fork out the mammoth fee it’ll take to buy Manchester United, with only one footballer able to stump up the multi-billion pound figure

An ex-Chelsea player dubbed ‘the world’s richest footballer’ is one of a minimal few who possess the financial capabilities to buy Manchester United from the Glazers. Faiq Bolkiah, who is the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, has forged a career in football despite his unfathomable net worth of around £15billion.

The 27-year-old spent time in the youth academies of Southampton and the Blues, before enjoying a four-year stint with Leicester City but left in 2020 without making a first-team appearance.

It was that same year that Bolkiah signed his first professional contract with Maritimo. After making just two appearances for the Portuguese club, he made the move to Thailand with Chonburi and since 2023, he’s represented Thai League 1 side Ratchaburi.

His determination to carve a career for himself in the sport given his family wealth is certainly admirable considering he could hypothetically cough up the £5.2bn the Glazer family are said to want to green-light a sale for the Red Devils. There is, of course, no suggestion that he is interested in doing any such thing.

While United’s current value stands at £2bn, the Floridian businessmen are thought to want double that figure. The significant premium could be based on future increases in the club’s value such as plans for their new stadium. Speculation about the future of United arose earlier this week when Saudi billionaire Turki Al-Sheikh stoked the fires on social media.

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Al-Sheikh, who is the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, took to X to claim a new investor is close to making a deal with the club. He wrote: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor … I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

Amid excitement online over the potential departure of the Glazer family, who’ve been subject to many protests from the United fanbase during their 20-year reign at Old Trafford, Al-Sheikh later confirmed that he was not the investor.

He explained in another post: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor. Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.”

The Glazers took over United in 2005 in a deal worth £790million. It was in 2023 that they sold 25% of the club to Sir Jim Ratcliffe before the British billionaire increased his minority ownership to 28.9% in a total deal worth a hefty £1.25bn.

While the Glazers remain majority owners, Ratcliffe admitted during his appearance on the The Business podcast that if he was instructed by the Americans to sack Ruben Amorim, he’d refuse.

The Red Devils may retain a colossal value but that hasn’t translated to success on the pitch, with the club sitting 10th in the Premier League table. Despite the disappointing start to the season in Amorim’s first full campaign in charge, the INEOS chief has given him three years to prove his worth.

“He has not had the best of seasons,” Ratcliffe said. “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That’s where I would be.”

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