The name Faiq Bolkiah will be unfamiliar to most fans, but the former Chelsea and Arsenal youngster has an incredible backstory. Bolkiah, now 25 years old and playing in the Thai league, is the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei and is one of several heirs to a fortune of more than €200 billion. In fact, he is considered the richest footballer in the world, far above Cristiano and Messi combined.
Born in Los Angeles, but with Bruneian nationality, Faiq Bolkiah is the son of the Prince of Brunei, Jefri Bolkiah, and nephew of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. To fulfill his dream of being a professional footballer, he moved to England and went through the youth teams of Southampton, Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke City and Leicester, with whom he also failed to make his debut with the first team. His greatest achievement was playing five games for Leicester in the Youth League in the 2016-17 season.
“I am a fast player, who likes to make things happen. I am a winger and a number 10, I like direct play and scoring goals,” Faiq Bolkiah defined himself, who has scored a goal in the six games he has played with Brunei. Until now, more than because of his football qualities, Faiq Bolkiah has been in the news for having a tiger as a pet and having spent 35 million euros in one month.
In 2021, Marítimo de Funchal, from the Portuguese first division, announced his signing. Last season he played in Thailand (for Chonburi FC) after Portugal’s Marítimo released him without a single minute under his belt. Currently, he plays for Ratchaburi FC, another team in the Thai first division.
Its curious history in England
But his time in England has a curious story far from ostentation and luxury. He stayed in modest homes or hostels and refused designer clothing to go unnoticed.
After spells at Southampton, Reading and Arsenal, he moved to Chelsea, playing alongside the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham in the Blues’ youth ranks.
One of his teammates at Chelsea was Ruben Sammut, who described Bolkiah as a boy who never boasted about his wealth. He told The Athletic: “You would never have thought he was something like twelfth in line to the throne. You wouldn’t have thought of him as royalty. He was a humble guy, who made an effort every day like every youth player. We used to joke that he didn’t need to play football but he wanted to play because he loved football.”
“It wasn’t something we usually mentioned. But there were the typical jokes, saying that he is royalty, saying: ‘What is he doing playing with us?’ But we all knew deep down how much he wanted to play, so it was more passing comments of good will. We don’t know the ins and outs of his family’s wealth, but he took football seriously, so all the credit goes to him. He lived in modest apartments like everyone else. I don’t remember with whom. “Sometimes he came with his roommate and dressed discreetly so as not to attract attention,” he adds.
In October 2016 he made his debut in the Brunei senior team in the qualification match for that year’s AFF Suzuki Cup against East Timor, which ended 2-1 in favor of his team. This is the only official match that he played with the team and in order to fulfill that dream he had to become a Bruneian national.
2023-09-30 11:06:07
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