World’s richest referee has chain of supermarkets and millions more than some Prem stars

An international-level referee is thought to have a staggering net worth many players would envy, thanks to his business nous in the retail sector.

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers may be remembered by some fans as the man in the middle as the lost on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.

He had been one of the game’s top match officials, having been a FIFA-listed referee since 2006 and a UEFA Elite official since 2009, as per .

But off the pitch, Kuipers was said to have made a pretty penny running branches of a Dutch supermarket chain called Jumbo that sponsored Formula 1’s superstar , as per .

Back in 2016 his net worth was estimated to be £11.5 million, and at one stage he was said to be making between £2million and £3million a year in profit alone, The Sun reports.

The 51-year-old hung up his whistle in 2021.

But even in retirement, his wealth may make him more flush than some current players in the .

While some of the Prem’s biggest stars have truly vast sums to play with, younger players and those at smaller clubs often earn far less.

This summer compiled a list of what it said were the 10 lowest paid players in the league, naming the likes of Kourney Hause at Aston Villa, and Wolves’ Tommy Doyle, who were said to be on £420,004, and £520,000 per year, respectively, at the time.

The list reflected players’ weekly and annual earnings paid by their clubs for the duration of their contracts and did not include personal endorsements, image rights, and other off-field earnings, the outlet explained.

Meanwhile, the likes the league’s biggest names like and reportedly earn around £20m a year from their clubs alone.

One lesser-known footballer has a net worth that eclipses the nest eggs of Cristiana Ronaldo and Lionel Messi combined.

Faiq Bolkiah, 26, who plays for Ratchaburi .

He is, therefore, one of a number of heirs to an estimated £20billion (about £24.2bn) fortune.