left the world of professional football behind in 2017, ending his 15-year career following a brief and unremarkable spell with Cardiff City. The ex-England international now lives a completely different lifestyle after losing his passion for the beautiful game. There are countless examples of footballers falling out of love with the sport that gave them their names.
David Bentley, a midfielder from the same era as Richardson, famously . Likewise, former Chelsea winger and World Cup winner . The German went into various business ventures and has participated in several mountaineering challenges since turning his back on football.
Toni Kroos and Thiago become the latest world-class footballers to announce a premature end to their incredible careers. Richardson has a similar story but has found a passion completely different to either Bentley, Schurrle or any other player to have called it quits on their football career before the standard retirement age. He now makes a fortune trading expensive watches.
The Englishman was a versatile player who made over 200 appearances in the for clubs including Aston Villa and West Brom. The majority of his games came for Sunderland, whom he joined from in 2007. Having shortly after legendary figures such as and Rio Ferdinand, Richardson made the move to Old Trafford in 2001, and he spent one year in the academy before making the step up to the senior team.
Having made his debut for the Red Devils in the 2002/03 season, the ex-Hammers' prospect became a dependable member of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad without ever really threatening to become a regular in the starting 11. Richardson has since commented on the reasons he failed to become a success at Old Trafford despite winning the League Cup and FA Cup. In 2012, he gave an interview with the Christian Post admitting : "My last year in my Manchester (United) career, my football went off the rails.
I was more worried about my social life than my football. I knew I wasn't performing because I was more interested in houses and cars. I wasn't happy.
Now I have Jesus Christ in my life and I feel good in my heart." There's no greater pride than playing for your country — and these players started their journeys with triumph. Following his move to Sunderland, the man who played as both a left-back and a wide midfielder cemented his place as a solid top-flight player.
In fact, he remained in the Premier League until his very last season as a player, in which he made six Championship appearances for Sunderland before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2016/17 campaign. Richardson spoke about the reason he left the sport behind, aged just 33, to . The now 39-year-old stated: "I miss my team-mates, the changing room, the banter but I don't miss the football itself, having to lace my boots and go out at 3pm.
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." Despite no longer being directly involved in the game, it's clear that the former full-back still has some form of connection with the game.
Richardson was full of praise for his Sunderland manager: "I really enjoyed working for Roy [Keane] - he got the best out of me, he's the best pundit now. He would never ask you to do something he couldn't do himself. Being a captain is about leading and getting the best of the team, and he was perfect at that.
Everyone respected that." Kieran Richardson played 35 times under Roy Keane for Sunderland. He now has more free time to enjoy football as a fan without any ties to a specific club.
Richardson is a self-professed supporter. He explained: "I watch football so much now - I didn't watch it much as a footballer, I didn't really care. 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." His foray into the business world has seen the ex-United ace become involved in the world of jewellery. The 39-year-old now trades in expensive watches.
Richardson spoke about his new venture: "We all start somewhere. When I first got into watches, I bought a Rolex for £14,000, then £18,000 then £21,000 then I made £3,000 on that watch. You get more confidence, you've got to get involved.
" Richardson stressed that his motivation isn't purely financial, as he doesn't need cash after spending the better part of two decades as a Premier League footballer. He added: "Life's about experiences for me, I'm not driven by money. I'd rather have a great holiday, drive a car hard, it's a thrill.
There's no point buying a car if you're not going to feel it. 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. I get a lot of customers from the trust side and that's fine.
" Now a co-owner of the Broadwalk Group company, Richardson first found his passion for watches as a teenager when he bought a Cartier Tank model for the first time. He now exclusively trades Richard Milles, Patek Philippes, Audemars Piguets and Rolexes. To outline the kind of money he now makes, Richardson was asked about his most expensive sale and replied: "Definitely a Richard Mille, for sure.
It must have been around $2.3m [£1.7m].
It was to an Asian client, an RM Skull - big money.".
