Chris Richards on his European Journey, the Next Generation of Team USA, and playing for Crystal Palace, Presented by Bank of America: Men in Blazers 06/09/26

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2:01Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides. You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network, Suboptimal Radio.

2:21My guest today is Alabama's favourite Premier League son. A gent who grew up under Friday Night Lights in the Deep South, but now lives to face down all comers in South London. 2025 FA Cup winner, US Men's Player of the Year. A man who gives me such great joy watching him and thousands of American fans across the nation watching him thrive and soar. One of the most soulful and singular Americans in football. It's incredible, Chris Richards. Hey, Raj, thank you for having me. That was amazing. That was amazing. You're amazing, man. You do know that. We watch you week in, week out, and just feel just a joy because your journey, your story is, I mean, it's the road less traveled.

3:05Yeah, definitely. Like you said, you know, Friday night lights to Thursday night and Sunday nights now. You know, it's a crazy journey. You should be in broadcast coffee writing. That is promo right there. But Chris, what year it's been since we last saw incredible highs, some real lows too. As we speak, a World Cup journey lies ahead of us. How is your state, your energy levels? What's more tired, the emotions or the physical side of you right now? It's been a lot of traveling. It's been a lot of late nights, been a lot of early mornings. Physically, you know, it is what it is. Everybody feels the same once it gets to, you know, May, June.

3:45But, you know, now that it's towards the end of the season, you know, you still have to prepare yourself for hopefully a long summer as well. So I think it's more emotional than physical. This is Power Moves presented by Bank of America, the official bank of US soccer in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Bank of America always asks, what would you like the power to do? We know from you making previous mistakes of appearing on this show that you found your passion for football really early on. You're an energetic kid. Your parents put you in after-school program to burn off some of that energy. You actually remember playing soccer in the gym at your nursery school, which I just loved, and it stuck with you from there.

4:20But you are straight out of Alabama. So just explain to all of us, why football football and not SEC football? It's still a question I think about a lot, you know? I love college football. I love American football. and Hoover High, the school I went to, was, you know, one of the big dogs. Yeah, exactly. So I very much grew up around the sport. But, you know, my parents were, I guess, advocates that, you know, they didn't want me to get into contact sports like that, like with a lot of head injuries and things like that. So I just never really got into tackle football. And funnily enough, the one year that I was going to play during the tryouts, I got the flu.

5:02And so I was like throwing up everywhere. And so it was a sign from God that I wasn't supposed to be playing American football. So that kind of actually that really turned me off from playing the sport. And yeah, I fell in love with that at a young age. And I think there was a part where I questioned if it was my calling per se. But then once I went out for that tryout and had the flu, I think that was God telling me. What position was young Chris Richards dreaming of stowing at at Hoover? A wide receiver. God. Yeah, I love that. if America's best athletes played in the NFL, we'll never know. By the way, Hoover, really 13 gridiron state championships.

5:41They were a powerhouse. And you were an athletic all-rounder. You played through the seasons, basketball, soccer, and track. What was it like being, I'd say, a proper footballer in, let's say, a pigskin world? Did you feel like an indie kid at a country western bar? Was it lonely, Chris? Yeah, it definitely was. I love the reference because that's exactly how I felt. You know, it's a felt like an outsider felt like nobody really understood me. I think also being mixed in with the culture of of having played basketball, having ran track with a lot of guys who are playing American football. I know they're always like, oh, why don't you why don't you come play the real football?

6:22Why don't you do this? Why don't you do that? And I was always good at these sports, but it just wasn't something that I necessarily loved like I did with footy. I was just able to express myself when I stepped on the football field. And no other sport, no other opportunity allowed me to do that. What position were you, by the way, back then on the soccer field? Big dog in Alabama. You were scoring the goals, weren't you? A little bit. Growing up, I was primarily a winger. and then once the goals stopped coming in, it was like, it was winger, then it was like the number 10, then number eight, then the sixth, then left back and then eventually made my way down to centre back.

6:59That's so funny. Brad Guzan came on this show and he said, like in high school, he was the star striker and then he just, he said they kept moving me further and further back, you know, as the attacking midfielder, then I was a defensive midfielder and he went all the way back into goal. At least you tapped out still as an outfield player, Chris. And God, look at you, making something of it. I know you'd even committed to play for UNC, accepted an invitation to join the Dallas FC Academy too. So you have both pathways. You were living in an apartment in Dallas, 17 years old. I think about what it must have been like for you.

7:32You were eating, raising canes. You were playing FIFA. My God, that to me, if heaven is like that, raising canes and playing FIFA, I'm so ready. But then European clubs that you played on FIFA started to come over and watch you for trials. What was that like? you had all of these options in front of you in this period everything happening so fast it almost felt like the world was at your feet too I mean I went from I guess what you would consider the the bottom of the football world which is Alabama to kind of the very top which was Byron but there was an in-between phase where I was in I was in Dallas and um you know on one side I wanted to be a kid and go to college go to UNC which was a dream school of mine then on the other side it was also like there's a professional pathway for me so it would be tough to turn that down and so there was nights where I really struggled with what I wanted my decision to be um again you know frontal lobe wasn't developed so obviously uh what some people think what some people think is uh a pretty clear-cut uh choice wasn't necessarily clear-cut for me um but I'm glad I made the right one I will say that I had some really important people in my corner um my host family from Houston the Eastons were always great for me uh Eric Quill was great Fernando Clavijo luchi gonzalez chris hayden the coaches at dallas exactly yeah i mean they were they were all no very supportive of me and um you know they told me it was my decision but ultimately they steered me in the right direction which was to to take my talents to europe you were just like i got my canes i got my fifa i've got all my food groups what more in life could have also i love that by the way frontal lobe not properly developed tell me when it happens is the is the reality for so many of us.

9:15A word from our friends at 1440. The 2022 World Cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers. It's 11 times this year's Super Bowl. To understand how football became the world's game and what drove it, listen to 1440 Explores with Financial Times journalist Simon Kuiper. It will give you the inside scoop into the depths of the tournament. Listen to 1440 Explores wherever you get your podcast. Lays, an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026 is also the official sponsor of all bandwagon fans during this euphoric summer of footballing wonder. And this summer, they're inviting all of us to jump on because come kick-off, hope springs eternal.

9:54My cold, dark heart grows three sizes every FIFA World Cup. The ebullient Moroccans, the splime Spanish, you can't help but fall in love again and again. So ask grandma if perhaps you're 116th French, Brazilian or Japanese, adopt Up to new anthem. Borrow a new flag. Embrace that bandwagon. Because when your team goes home, the party doesn't have to. Grab a bag of leis, gather some friends and cheer for whoever you damn well like. And as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, we're going coast to coast, host city to host city to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Match Day Live Tour.

10:33These are free college game day style live events It's taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer, where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans. It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube. And let's celebrate this summer the way it's meant to be celebrated. Just head to the events tab on meninblazers.com for all the details. To the football, to more together courage. Fast forward, summer 2018. You're now 18 years of age. And before you'd even played a single game for FC Dallas, Bayern Munich have taken you on load.

11:12Suddenly, you're stepping out on the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. 50 ,000 people facing down Premier League title holders, Manchester City in a friendly. I remember watching that game, watching you. I think Bernardo Silva, 23-year-old Bernardo Silva then, was flitting in at you from the wing with dangerous intent. You played the entire game. take us into that experience because it's always bonkers to contemplate you're still a kid you know a southern kid before going to Bayern I graduated high school three weeks prior maybe a month prior and uh again you know it was it was one of those things where when they told me I was going to Bayern I was thinking okay cool you know starting off with under 19s and from day one it was no you're going to be with the first team for the pre-season tour and uh you know I grew up watching these preseason tours uh you know you'd see the the american kid here you'd see guys like christian playing with with doorman you'd see timmy playing with psg at the time and so that part yeah exactly timmy way and so once it was my turn i was like all right cool this is kind of my audition to the world but you can't really simulate what it's going to be like in hard rock in miami in july against the best team in the world at the time which was man city and um yeah it was it was a crazy experience because I remember staying in a five-star hotel which I'd never done in my life I remember playing in front of like you said 50 ,000 odd fans which I think the biggest crowd I played in before that was maybe a thousand if that and again it just a completely different level than what I was used to but it was beautiful I think it was a moment in my career where I really understood what it was to be a professional but also I understood that once you make it to that level it's not the end-all be-all you still have a lot of work to go.

12:55Was it beautiful? Was it nerve-wracking we just they're just like soulful i've played these guys i'm playing with you know love and doski and the likes i played them on fifa and very familiar with them i got this or was part of it out of body like oh my god you know we are not in alabama anymore it was definitely nerve-wracking i mean i remember the first day walking into that dressing room and first of all i was hearing five different languages probably and i was also you know walking up to world-class players, again, guys who I had played with on FIFA or only seen on TV. And now I was sharing a dressing room with them.

13:31It was, you know, they demand a lot out of you. And it was, it was tough. But again, you know, I understand why they made it to that level because they want everybody around them to be at that level. And it's, it's more than just themselves. So for me, it was definitely tough, but also it almost felt like an out-of-body experience as well, because I remember stepping on the pitch. I don't remember anything that happened in that game, but I just remember knowing that I played the game, like remembering, I guess, an action here or there. But it was, again, it was something that 16-year-old Chris, when he left Alabama, couldn't have thought of.

14:04It's all so mind-blowing. Also, not just 16-year-old to 18-year-old, but I imagine as a kid in Alabama, before buying paid the$1.5 million release clause and the deal became permanent, you were over there suddenly. in Alabama you Chris Richards would have been probably the best player on almost every single field you stepped upon and now suddenly you're a smaller fish in a big German sea you're like an Einer Kleiner fisher what was the biggest challenge for you you know as an American was it the football or the culture shock I think it was a bit of the culture shock plus the stigma that Americans have I think you know when you get to when you get to Europe or when you get anywhere in the world.

14:47You know, I think when people think of Americans, they think of us being lazy. They think of us being fat, our cuisine or lack of cuisine, that is, and lack of culture, you know. And then when I get to Germany, you know, had to learn a new language, had to learn a new way of life, had to learn a new football club, had to learn all these different things. And it was a bit daunting, you know, especially with a club with the caliber of Bayern Munich. But I think one of the things that really gave me hope and kind of drove me was that, you know, so many americans have done it in in the bundesliga before me and that's one thing that i really um you know looked at because i didn't want to be one of those guys that fell through the cracks and you know had all this potential but never panned out you know i uh i wanted to be a guy that people could look look up to as well for in the future you know a young kid gets over there and they're confused they're you know maybe feel like they're not in the right spot and i want to be a person that you know they can hopefully look at for reference yeah i remember speaking to eric Wijnaldi about how hard it was in that it's just the culture of the German locker room you know he missed the early chance in one of his first games and went into the locker room at halftime and said my bad which is like classic American football the story goes something like one of his teammates picked up his cleat and just cracked him on the on the temple and said when you miss we lose when we lose we don't get our bonuses you know put the bloody ball in the net there's no my bad can you capture that i mean just the loneliness of the adjustment to a ruthlessly competitive footballing culture from the kind of more gentile american reality you've been thriving in when you think about my journey i went from playing under 19 academy football fc dallas to pretty much first team football uh with with byron and uh academy is no relegation uh first team footy of course over here there's there's promotion relegation and um these guys are families you know they're feeding their families they're they're feeding themselves they're feeding the people around them and when you lose a game it is very uh it does turn into a very passionate very fiery changing room and that's something I didn't really realize um again you know I think when you think of the academy system back home you're thinking of you know getting a first team deal if not then maybe you go to college and figure out your way there um but even the academy system in Germany was uh everybody's fighting for that those one or two spots on the first team and it's a dog-eat-dog world.

17:08You know, there is no, you're not going to university, you know, it's either you make it here, you try to make it somewhere else. But no, it was, it was, it was tough because again, I was, you know, what, seven hour time difference. All my friends were going to university or going to college. So I was missing out on all those things. On top of that, you know, my two younger siblings are growing up without me. And it was a lot of lonely nights, especially not having learned the language before coming over because I didn't have any time to, but I will say that there was four guys at Bayern that really helped me out.

17:40I'd say Josh Zerxy, Taylor Booth, Ryan Johansson, Tomasi, like these kind of guys, they spoke English, obviously, but also they kind of understood the sacrifice it took. You know, they were non-Germans as well. And we had our little English group going on. And, you know, it was something that I think without them, genuinely, I don't think I'd be here today. You're still tight with those guys? Yeah, definitely. Especially Josh Zerxy. You know, we still talk a lot. And especially with him coming to United, you know, anytime he's down in London, we try to grab food or just go get a coffee or something like that.

18:12Loneliness, support network, progress. This is fascinating to me, though, Chris. You were born and raised in Hoover, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, cradle of the civil rights movement in the United States. But you said it wasn't until you went abroad to Germany that you saw people playing soccer who looked like you. because American soccer was still so white and suburban back then. What was this like? It was a full circle kind of experience. Suddenly you had to go abroad to be in the right place. Yeah, I mean, I think we spoke about earlier how I felt like an outsider because I was the only kid that wasn't playing football.

18:50But it wasn't just that. It was that I was the only black kid that was playing soccer. And I think that was one of those things where growing up, I always felt like an outsider because of the sport I was playing and the fact that I look like I do in the sport that I was playing. And when I finally came to Europe, it was one of those things where, of course, you always hear about it being the world's game. And you don't really think about it until you are around people who aren't from where you're from. But we're all kind of collectively doing something, which is kicking this ball around. and they look like you or they have some of the same interests that you have.

19:33And I think for me, that was the most beautiful part was that I finally was seeing people that looked like me playing the sport that I love. And it was, like you said, a full circle moment that I finally felt like I wasn't an outsider. Maybe I was an American in Germany at one of the biggest clubs in the world, but strangely enough, I felt home. Now it's time to ask some questions from our great friends at Bank of America who always ask, what would you like the power to do? I'm here with the soulful king, Chris Richards of Crystal Palace and the US Men's National Team. Someone has risen to the top level of football and won.

20:09Chris, what would you like the power to do to help the next generation have the same opportunities? I would like it to inspire. I think the whole reason of picking up a football, of course, is to express yourself. But I think also if I'm able to inspire the next generation, if I'm able to be the reason why a kid picks up a football, then my career is a successful one. Amen. Is there someone who's been there for you when you think about your life, your journey, who gave you advice about mindset? What do they teach you and how does that help you along the way? I think there's two people. I think my dad is a big one.

20:44he's definitely somebody who from day one told me that you know if I want to to do something that I love every day of my life then I have a lot of hard work ahead of me and that you know it's never really going to stop you know it's something that you know sacrifices now you'll be able to to reap the benefits of it later so I'd say that's one and I'd say Eric Quill as well he's the head coach FC Dallas now but he was my academy coach in Houston I'm gonna be honest he was the first person I called before my family when I heard about the Bayern news because honestly I didn't want to go and no he told me that uh no you don't want to live your life with regrets um especially when it comes to your career that you know you want to be able to say I did everything I wanted to do and I did it my way so um I say those are the two people who who really gave me some great advice leap into the unknown take those chances savor all of it Chris Richards you an amazing human being.

21:36Thanks to you, to our great friends at Bank of America for making this possible. It all started to click on loan at Hoffenheim. You got a real I love your quote of growing man football. 19 games played in the Bundesliga that season. And you began to soar, setting the stage for your$12 million move to Crystal Palace 2022. Arriving in the squad and you just recovered from a thigh injury. Early minutes off the bench, but then you were hamstrung, literally and symbolically. You're out for three long months it was frustrating for the fans frustrating for the club it was deeply frustrating for you i know this moment of injury ultimately led you to seek out a therapist to start to build the mental processes that have helped you deal with adversity can you take us into that time because it was quite dark in moments when you think of highs and lows of a career that was definitely the the lowest for me and um it came from this high of playing all the games with hoffenheim and getting this big move to to know the the toughest league in the world and a dream of mine and um it didn't start off how i wanted and again on top of that i missed the world cup and um now it was tough because i was watching all these guys who i had gone through this world cup qualifying cycle with and um you know we'd done so much hard work and now it's time to reap the benefits of it and i just missed it so it was tough to watch the guys at the world cup and And during that time, you know, I really had time to focus on myself and needed it because I wasn't in the best place.

23:03So I did seek out a therapist and she was the best thing for me. You know, she I think you everybody thinks that they're mentally tough or mentally stable until adversity hits. And I wasn't. Yeah, I was still a young lad now. I was 22. And so I still had a lot to learn about life in general, but also about the sport and about myself. So, you know, having spoken for her. What was the most important process that you put in place in that moment? Just that, you know, tomorrow's coming. I think that's the thing is that, you know, you feel like today is the worst day of your life. But, you know, the sun sets and the sun rises again.

23:39And so you just have to put one foot in front of the next. And, you know, again, tomorrow's always coming. So that was the best advice I was given is that, you know, as tough as this moment feels, you've survived every terrible day that you've had so far. Amen. Tomorrow is coming. Tomorrow came in the form of a new manager, Oliver Glastner, end of 2023-24. And you've been playing in midfield as a six a lot until he came and returned you to your natural position, centre-back. You played alongside Captain Mark Gahey. We talk a lot to Tyler Adams on this network, and he talks about how he saw your mentality change through this Premier League crucible.

24:19He talks about how you were such a sweet, nice guy. off the field and at the beginning you were so good-natured on it but he's watched you almost flip a switch and become battle-hardened that you don't need to help people up that you can stand over them um you know and intimidate your opponents do you agree with that assessment from time yeah i do i think um i think again naturally i'm just i'd like to say a easygoing person uh but like we spoke about earlier i mean it's a grown man's sport so uh you know people are feeding their families with it and again you know I have a family of my own now and you know this is this is what I'm doing to feed them so if you're coming to take my spot then you know good luck you have to earn it so regardless of if you know I'm with the national team if I'm with Crystal Palace you know I want to be one of those guys that when people look across the field and they see me they're scared of me and you know if you want to come score a goal then again you have to earn this but you know nothing's going to be given.

25:14How hard was that process? Did anyone help you or did you just evolve decide yourself this is who i need to be i think it was just you know evolving you know obviously you know seeing guys like tyler who uh they're kind of the same mentality you know yeah honestly i'm just gonna keep referencing tyler because i think he's the best example everyone's like well what's wrong with this guy i was like this is just tyler you know it's uh well on your team people like what's wrong with that guy yeah they're like well what's wrong with this guy like why can't he be normal i was like well this is tyler being normal trust me so i think for me keep your bro straight where they say to you like exactly he's not with me on this occasion so for me it was one of those things where i think especially in this moment in time where people have questioned a lot the mentality of our national team um i wanted to be that guy where you know people never have to question my mentality and if hopefully a one percent of my mentality can rub off on the guys around me then i think we'll all be good for uh for doing that.

26:12But it does segue us into a sense that alongside the club career, you have a parallel international journey, and it has been one of wonder and challenge. You made the US Men's Under-19 team January 2018, debuted for the Under-20s four months later. You won the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship that same year against Panama November 2020, and quickly became an anchor for the squad. And then the agony that you've highlighted, 2022 World Cup within touching distance and that hamstring injury flaring up kept you at home. You've hinted at what an agony it was. Different players have come on and talked about how they've experienced a World Cup going on without them, a World Cup they should have been at.

26:59What was it like for you? Could you even bring yourself to watch the actual games or was that too painful? If I'm being honest with you, as much as I'd like to say I did watch the games, I watched snippets of it. I don't think I sat there for more than 10, 15 minutes watching a full game. And I remember my parents coming over because they knew, you know, it was a tough time for me. And they sat there and they turned the game on and, you know, I went upstairs and then they brought the TV up to my room. And even then, I still couldn't watch it. And I don't remember which game it was during the group stage, but American Outlaws had a kind of pub, like a pub viewing here in London.

27:39And they invited my parents and myself to it. So I remember going to it. And I just again, I couldn't stand there and pretend like I was I was super happy as much as I love the guys and I love the staff. It's like I have nothing but positive words for everybody who was involved. It was more of myself. I wasn't ready for it. and um feeling what chris can you put that into words i don't want to project yeah it's i don't know it's almost like i don't even know how to exactly put it it's like it's like seeing everybody celebrate your birthday when you know you can't celebrate it yourself but times a million you know like it's what's meant to be one of the happiest days of your life or happy experiences of your life you can't enjoy it because you're not a part of it um it was tough it was again it was the toughest thing i've ever been through um i can't imagine i can't imagine by the way we missed you um and by the way too um i hate birthdays um but this is not about me it's about you and you are now here four long years later you've almost completed a voyage i say land is at sight i I don't want to touch upon anything, you know, for superstition reason.

28:55But we're 37 days away from a World Cup on home turf as we speak. After everything you've endured and everything you've achieved since then, in your own words, how are you different from the Chris of four years ago? Obviously, I've matured as a person, but I think I've definitely matured as a footballer as well. And I think, you know, again, you're 22 years old and you're still kind of a child. You know, you still have a lot to learn about the sport. No. Again, I think Tyler speaking about my, I guess, character evolution. It's not just on the field. It's preparation. It's nutrition. It's taking care of your body.

29:31And again, at 22 years old, you feel like, oh, I'm still limber enough to not stretch. I'm still fast enough to maybe be out of position. But I think for me, it's just kind of turning into this mature footballer so that all the mistakes I made in 22 that potentially were the reason of my demise, that I'm strong enough now to understand when and where I need to improve or where I potentially needed to improve back then. Saving for your next milestone? Turn your everyday errands into cash back opportunities. Thanks to the Blue Cash Everyday card, we can earn 3 % cash back in the U.S. on essentials like groceries at supermarkets, online retail purchases and gas stations.

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30:33This U.S. team is still evolving. You played recently as part of a back three and a back four. Does it make a difference for you? Is it one of those systems that you feel suits you more? I have a little bit of bias towards the three in the back. You know, I think at Hoffenheim I played it here at Palace, primarily with Glasner I played it. So I do enjoy playing that. But, you know, I think with the people that we have with the national team, I think that it's good to have some sort of fluidity because, you know, we do have guys whose strengths are maybe going forward, some guys whose strengths are defending.