The United States international certainly enjoyed a 25th year to remember, with FA Cup and Community Shield trophy lifts at Wembley for club – as well as being a key part of the side which granted Selhurst Park European football for the first time – and a run to the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup final last summer for country.
And with a home World Cup tournament on the horizon this summer, the defender – who is part of a 27-man USA squad due to face Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta in the next few days – and is well positioned to fulfil even more of his dreams in the near future.
"My goal in life is to be the reason why somebody picks up a soccer ball," Richards recently told talkSPORT at the 2026 Champions of Marketing event in London.
"If we as a collective, if we're able to give good enough performances – performances that make America proud, but also performances that allow a kid to pick up a soccer ball one day – then it's a successful one."
