23 January 2024 , 13:00
1203
0
Former Manchester United star Kieran Richardson has taken up a surprising career as a luxury watch dealer - and isn't doing too badly at all.
The former England international, who started his Premier League journey at Old Trafford before playing for the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa and Cardiff, now looks completely different now with a greying beard and long hair tied in a bun.
But Richardson, now 39, who scored twice in eight England appearances and won the league and League Cup during his time with United, is loving life buying and selling luxury timepieces.
He gave an insight into his new career last year, speaking on the Steven Sulley Study podcast, explaining how his most impressive sale to date brought in £1.7million as he deals with names such as Patek Philippe, and insisting that, while his time in football may help, trust is his most valuable asset.
He revealed: "You have to make sure you trust your dealer. I find with my background and who I am, people don't feel I'm going to rump them and run away with £100,000 because I don't need your £100,000."
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
He added: "I get a lot of customers from the trust side and that's fine. I have a lot of clients but don't like to tell the big names - I don't want to open that can of worms, these watches are proper assets."
"I'm private. I have massive clients, trust me - it's different if they want to put it out there. I am thinking about people, not the pound notes. Safety."
Kieran Richardson celebrates scoring for Manchester United in an FA Cup semi-final in 2006 (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Richardson also shared his journey in football and why he chose to call it a day. Despite being an ex-Red Devil, he also confessed he's an Arsenal fan.
"By the end of my career, it became a job, I fell out of love with it and lost that spark. I still enjoyed it but lost that love," he said. "I watch football so much now - I didn't watch it much as a footballer, I didn't really care."
"Now as someone not playing, I enjoy being an Arsenal fan, I'm buying a season ticket next season. I don't think there was a conflict of interests."
"I am an Arsenal fan but when you play for a club, you aren't thinking about Arsenal. Whichever club you're at, that's the team you are riding for. I knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup and I scored against them."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]