World’s richest footballer worth £15billion could comfortably afford to buy Man United

The world's richest footballer is worth an estimated £15billion and he could buy Man United from the Glazers with ease as the Red Devils are reportedly close to confirming a new investor

An ex-Chelsea player known as 'the world's richest footballer' is among the select few with the financial means to purchase Manchester United from the Glazers.

Faiq Bolkiah, the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei, has built a career in football despite his staggering net worth of approximately £15 billion. The 27-year-old honed his skills in the youth academies of Southampton and Chelsea, before spending four years at Leicester City, departing in 2020 without making a first-team appearance.

In the same year, Bolkiah signed his first professional contract with Maritimo. After only two appearances for the Portuguese club, he moved to Thailand to play for Chonburi and since 2023, he's been playing for Thai League 1 side Ratchaburi.

His commitment to establishing a career in football, despite his family wealth, is commendable, especially considering he could theoretically afford the £5.2bn the Glazer family are reportedly asking for to approve a sale of the Red Devils. However, there is no indication that he has any interest in doing so.

While the current value of United stands at £2bn, it is understood the Glazers would want over double this amount to sell their stake in the club. This significant premium could be based on anticipated increases in the club's value, such as plans for their new stadium, reports the Mirror.

Speculation about the future of United was sparked earlier this week when Saudi figure Turki Al-Sheikh stirred up conversation on social media. Al-Sheikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, took to social media to announce that a new investor is nearing a deal with the club.

He posted: "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."

In the midst of online excitement over the potential exit of the Glazer family, who have faced numerous protests from United fans during their 20-year tenure at Old Trafford, Al-Sheikh later confirmed that he was not the investor.

He clarified 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 control of United in 2005 in a transaction valued at £790million. It was in 2023 when they sold 25% of the club to Sir Jim Ratcliffe before the British billionaire increased his minority stake to 28.9% in a total deal worth a substantial £1.25bn.

While the Glazers remain the majority owners, Ratcliffe confessed on The Business podcast that if he was ordered by the Americans to dismiss Ruben Amorim, he would refuse.

Despite their significant worth, the Red Devils' fortunes on the pitch have been less than stellar, languishing in 10th place in the Premier League table. Despite a lacklustre start to Amorim's inaugural full season at the helm, the INEOS boss has granted him a three-year window to prove his mettle.

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

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