Each position in football is vital and plays an important role in having a winning team. But there are defenders who are literally a crucial part of the team. And we have gone through a deep analysis to find out the richest football defenders in the world.
Defending the opponent to score goals and make their team have victory is a position that should have more recognition than strikers. However, defenders earn a huge amount of wages for such positions,
There are many defenders in the world who have multiple skills and have a huge fan following across the globe, so we’ve chosen the 10 best who are rich in experience and wealth and have had successful careers in football history. In no particular order, the world’s most versatile and wealthy goalkeepers are about to be revealed. Let’s get into it.
Richest Football Defenders | 2024 Ranking
Content Summery
Football is not just one of the most popular sports in the world but is also one of the richest sports of all time that, involves billions of dollars. And defenders earn a major chunk from that football money. So, here are the richest defenders in the football world.
10. Matthijs de Ligt | Netherlands
A Dutch professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Serie A club Juventus and the Netherlands national team Matthijs de Ligt started his career on 21 September 2016 with Ajax.
Known as one of the richest defenders of all time, Matthijs is the most talented and versatile footballer. On a different note, he is also one of the most-followed footballers on Instagram.
As he has achieved multiple awards within a short period of time, including Best player of ABN AMRO Future Cup, Best player of Copa Amsterdam, and Dutch Football Talent of the Year. Against Manchester United in 2017, he became the youngest player to play in a major European final.
Winner of the Golden Boy award, Ligt is regarded as one of the richest defenders having £9 million and got the 10th spot in our top 10 richest defenders of all time.
9. Giorgio Chiellini | Italy
An Italian professional footballer Giorgio Chiellini plays as a defender and captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team. He is now widely regarded as one of the strongest football players of all time.
known for his dedication and vocal leadership on the pitch, and as Juventus’s long-time vice-captain he has a massive fan following on social media accounts and huge respect from football fans.
Giorgio made his country and his fans proud by winning Serie A Team of the Year, Serie A Defender of the Year, and UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season. Chiellini is considered one of the world’s best center-backs as he is a physically strong and aggressive defender.
By having a net worth of $3 million, he is in 9th position among our top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
8. Virgil van Dijk | Netherlands
A Dutch professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Netherlands national team. He is one of the most popular footballers in the world right now.
Virgil van Dijk is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world. He has a crazy fan following on his social media account, like on Instagram, he has 11.7 million followers, and 5.4 million followers on Facebook.
Known for his strength, leadership, and aerial ability, Virgil has amazing techniques to defend opponents and make himself very beneficial to the team.
He is the defender who belongs to that spirit that can chase down even the fastest attacker. By having a net worth of £49.5 million, he is in 8th position out of the top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
7. Harry Maguire | England
An English professional footballer who plays as a center-back for the Premier League side and one of the richest football clubs, Manchester United, and the England national team.
Harry Maguire started his career in 2011 with Sheffield United, where he played only for 3 seasons. Later he moved to Hull City for three continuous seasons. He is widely known for his vast vision and his spectacular tactic.
Harry won multiple awards, including PFA Team of the Year, Football League One Team of the Season, and Football League Young Player of the Month in 2011.
He has a huge fan following on Instagram, with around 2.8 million followers, and 2.8 million followers on his Twitter account. Maguire earned the 7th spot in our top 10 richest defenders in the world by having a net worth of $30 million.
6. Vincent Kompany | Belgium
Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a center-back. Widely known as the best footballer in history, he started his career at a very early age.
Most of his time he spent at Manchester City, where he played for 11 seasons and captained for 8 seasons. And till now, he remained one of the highest-paid footballers of all time.
By having 1.6m Followers on Instagram, he makes a handsome amount of money through sponsorships, and he also has a net worth of $45 million which makes him get 6th place out of the top 10 richest defenders in the world.
Kompany made his fans proud and excited by winning multiple awards, including Man of the Season, Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season.
5. Thiago Silva | Brazil
A Brazilian professional footballer Thiago Silva plays as a center-back for Premier League club Chelsea and is the captain of the Brazil national team.
He started his youth career in 1998 with Fluminense and never looked back but achieved massive success everywhere in his field through his dedication and extreme work.
Widely known as the best world richest footballer he has a massive fan following of 17 million on Instagram which is a sign that he has huge respect from football lovers.
The versatile footballer Thiago has won many titles in which Bola de Prata, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Fan’s Player, and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year are involved. By having a net worth of $45 million he made his 5th place in our top 10 richest football defenders rankings.
4. Gerard Pique | Spain
A Spanish professional footballer Gerard Pique plays as a center-back for La Liga club Barcelona. Known as the most promising defender Gerard started his career in 2004 with the Manchester United academy where he played for four consecutive seasons till 2008.
The 34-year-old Pique has a massive fan following on his social media accounts which plays a really important role to increase his net worth as brands pay him for sponsorships. Besides, he is also one of the most handsome footballers of all time.
The handsome Gerard is widely famous because of his charming looks and his girlfriend Colombian singer Shakira.
Widely known as the richest footballer in the world, Gerard is playing as a defender for FC Barcelona and has a net worth of $80 million which makes him earn 4th spot in our top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
3. Sergio Ramos | Spain
Known as the richest soccer player Sergio is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. He is widely dubbed as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
The handsome hunk notably played as a center-back for Real Madrid for 16 seasons. He is widely considered one of the richest footballers and has a high fan following on Instagram of 47.8 million followers which is helping him to get more advertisements and sponsorships from all the richest brands.
Sergio has won multiple awards including La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year, FIFA World Cup Dream Team, and La Liga Best Defender which made him the most valuable player.
By having a net worth of $80 million he got 3rd position in our top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
2. Lucas Hernandez | France
Lucas is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back or center-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the France national team. He has started his career in 2005 with Rayo Majadahonda.
He is widely considered one of the best defenders of all time. Lucas Hernandez makes a huge amount of money from his social media accounts and is known as the richest footballer.
He has won multiple awards including UEFA European Under-19 Championship, and UEFA Champions League for Bayern Munich.
By having a net worth of $80.87 million he got ranking in 2nd position in our top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
1. Philipp Lahm | Germany
A German former professional footballer Philipp Lahm played as a full-back. As a captain of Bayern Munich, he helped them to numerous honors including the 2013 UEFA Champions League as part of the Treble.
known as the best football defender of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time he has a huge fan following on his social media account which is the biggest reason he attracts sponsorships to enhance his income.
As he has a net worth of $100 million and got 1st position in our top 10 richest football defenders in the world.
Lahm has high appreciation around the globe because of his unique tactics and his dedication which make him the most demanding footballer in the world.
Final Words
So, after reading about the 10 richest footballers, and phenomenal and wealthy goalkeepers you must be satisfied and accept the fact that they deserve more. In our mind, we always cherish the defenders because of their role as a goalkeeper, which is most important in all positions of football.
The defenders can make or break the game, a team is lucky where they have an amazing defenders like Sergio Ramos, Lucas Hernandez, and Gerard Pique. But you can name your favorite one here in the comment box down below, we don’t mind!
Richest Football Defender | 2024 Infographics
FAQs Regarding Richest Football Defenders
Q. Who is the richest footballer in 2022?
The richest footballer in 2022 is Cristiano Ronaldo as he is the kind of football and the best in the world has a net worth of $500 million. CR7 is the one who has the highest fan following on Instagram and he gets huge sponsorships which made him the richest footballer of 2022.
Q. Who is the richest defender of all time?
A German former professional footballer Philip Lahm played as a full-back is known as the richest Football defender of all time as he has a net worth of $100 million and a huge fan following on his social media account which is really lucrative for his cash flowing.
Q. Who is the richest footballer in Africa in 2022?
An Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a winger for English top club Liverpool Mohammed Salah is currently the richest footballer in Africa in 2022, with an impressive net worth of $70 Million.
Q. Who is the youngest rich footballer?
Bruneian professional footballer Faiq Jefri Bolkiah plays as a midfielder for the Portuguese club Maritimo, as well as for the Brunei national team. He has a net worth of $20 billion and Faiq also captains his team.
Last Updated On: April 2024