11 September 2023 , 13:15
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Former Manchester United star Kieran Richardson looks unrecognisable after becoming a luxury watch dealer.
The ex-defender kicked off his Premier League career at Old Trafford after a move from West Ham. He went on to make 81 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 11 goals and winning the 2006/07 Premier League title.
Richardson can also rank West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa and Cardiff among his former employers. He also made eight appearances for the England national side. Richardson rounded off his career back in 2017 following a failed trial with Spanish side Granada and has now gone in a slightly different direction.
Talking on the Steven Sulley Study podcast, he confirmed that he was now a luxury watch dealer, whilst looking wildly different to his playing days as he sported a greying beard and long hair tied up in a bun.
“You have to make sure you trust your dealer,” Richardson said of his new venture. “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.
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“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.
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“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.”
Richardson also opened up on his career within football and why he decided to hang up his boots, whilst detailing that despite being a Red Devil, he was a fan of United’s rivals Arsenal.
"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 explained. "I watch football so much now - I didn't watch it much as a footballer, I didn't really care.
Kieran Richardson now looks completely different six years after retiring (YouTube/Steven Sulley)"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."
Richardson is not the only former Red Devil to have looked slightly different over the past year. Brian McClair left fans astonished back in January after posing for a photo in a pub sporting a huge beard.