Christopher Jeffrey Richards (born March 28, 2000) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a center-back for club Crystal Palace and the United States national team. A youth player for

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

in his home country, Richards began his professional career with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, initially playing for the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. After loan spells at 1899 Hoffenheim, he was signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace in 2022, where he won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. A former youth player for his country, Richards received his first senior call-up for the United States in 2020. He won the

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

; scoring in the final, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Club career

FC Dallas

Richards was raised in

Hoover, Alabama Hoover is a city in the Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson and Shelby County, Alabama, Shelby counties in north central Alabama, United States. Hoover is the largest suburban city in Alabama and the sixth largest city in Alabama. The populati ...

, and played youth soccer for Hoover SC. In 2016, he was cut from a trial with FC Dallas Academy and instead joined Texans SC in Houston. He then joined FC Dallas Academy in 2017. On April 12, 2018, Richards signed a professional contract with

Bayern Munich

In May 2018, Richards, with his FC Dallas colleague Thomas Roberts, went to a 10-day trial at

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

as part of an agreement between the two clubs. As a result of his performance during the trial, in July he was offered a one-year loan with the German club. On July 21, 2018, Richards debuted for the Bayern senior team at the 2018 International Champions Cup, replacing Sandro Wagner in the 62nd minute of the 3–1 win against

Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. With 52 major trophies ...

During the 2018–19 season, he spent time with Bayern München U19s, becoming a team regular starter and being praised for his aerial abilities and his passing skills. On January 19, 2019, Richards signed a $1.5 million permanent contract with FC Bayern Munich. On August 19, 2019, he made his professional debut when he started for

FC Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the reserve team of German association football club Bayern Munich, currently playing in the Regionalliga Bayern. In 2010–11, they played in the 3. Liga, having qualified for ...

at the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

in a 2–1 away win against

Hallescher FC Hallescher FC, formerly known as Hallescher FC Chemie, is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga, the fourth highest l ...

. He made 30 appearances and scoring 4 goals for Bayern II in a team that won the 3. Liga. On June 20, 2020, Richards made his Bundesliga debut in a 3–1 victory over

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. On September 18, he made his first appearance of the

2020–21 Bundesliga The 2020–21 Bundesliga was the 58th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 September 2020 and concluded on 22 May 2021. The season was originally scheduled to begin on 21 August 2020 and conclude on 15 ...

season in Bayern's opening match against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

. He made his first start for Bayern against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

on October 4, in which he assisted a

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

goal in the 51st minute of a 4–3 win. On November 25, 2020, Richards made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut for Bayern in a 3–1 victory over Red Bull Salzburg. He left the game in the 79th minute when he was replaced by

Javi Martínez Javier "Javi" Martínez Aginaga (; born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, midfielder or Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He ar ...

Loan to Hoffenheim

On February 1, 2021, Richards joined the Bundesliga side

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

on loan for the remainder of the season.

Crystal Palace

Richards signed a five-year contract with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Crystal Palace on July 27, 2022, after being transferred from Bayern Munich for a €12 million fee. After making sporadic appearances in his first season, the 2022–23 campaign, he began to appear more prominently in the following season, 2023–24, initially out of position as a defensive midfielder under

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

before shifting to his preferred centre-back position under new manager

Oliver Glasner Oliver Glasner (born 28 August 1974) is an Austrians, Austrian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace. A Defe ...

's back three system. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 February, opening the scoring in a 3–0 home win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, with his goal being Palace's first under Glasner in his first match in charge. At the start of the 2024–25 season, Richards lost his place in the starting line-up to new loan signing

Trevoh Chalobah Trevoh Tom Chalobah (born 5 July 1999) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and the England national football team, England national team. Chalobah is a centre back who jo ...

, and was restricted to just six league starts in the first half of the season. However, his playing time increased following Chalobah's recall to Chelsea in January 2025. Richards went on to form an essential part of the back line alongside Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix. He scored his second goal for the club in a 5–2 defeat to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 12 April. Palace went on to win the

, their first ever major trophy, and qualify for European competition for the first time; Richards received praise for his defensive shut-out performance in the 1–0 victory against City in the

2025 FA Cup final The 2025 FA Cup final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 17 May 2025 between Crystal Palace and Manchester City that determined the winners of the 2024–25 FA Cup. It was the 144th final of English football's ...

. He was the only Crystal Palace player to have played every minute of every tie in the competition. He also became just the second American to play in and win an FA Cup final, after

Tim Howard Timothy Matthew Howard (born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the part-owner of club Dagenham & Redbridge as well as an international ambassador in the United States for Premie ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

International career

In January 2018, Richards was called for the MNT Youth National Team Summit Camp, which gathered 153 players from U16, U17, U18, U19 and U20 Youth National Teams. In May 2018, he made his debut for the United States U20 team in a match against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. On November 12, 2018, Richards was called for the

2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (27th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted at United States betw ...

as one of the three replacements allowed before the beginning of the "Qualification Stage". He, then, started in two of the tournament's three remaining matches, including the final, a 2–0 win, against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. On May 10, 2019, he was included by the coach

Tab Ramos Tabaré "Tab" Ramos Ricciardi (born September 21, 1966) is an American former soccer player and coach. Over his thirteen-year professional career, Ramos played as a midfielder in Spain, Mexico, and the United States. The first player to sign wi ...

in the 21-man squad called to represent the United States at the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

. Richards started all of the five matches that the Americans played in the tournament, including the 3–2 win against the heavy favorites,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Richards played the entire game in all but one of the matches (that against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

). He received his first call up to the senior

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

squad for matches against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in November 2020. He made his national team debut as a late substitute against Panama. Richards scored his first goal for his country on 18 June 2023, scoring the first goal of United States' 2–0 win against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the

2023 CONCACAF Nations League final The 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final was a soccer match between Canada and the United States to determine the winner of the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League's top division, League A. The match was the second final match of the CONCACAF Na ...

Personal life

Richards' father, Ken Richards, played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SA ...

and later professionally in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Richards goal.''

Honors

Bayern Munich *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Crystal Palace *

: 2024–25 United States U20 *

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

United States *

: 2022–23, 2023–24 Individual * IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020 *CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

References

External links

*
Profile
at the Crystal Palace F.C. website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Chris 2000 births Living people Sportspeople from Hoover, Alabama Soccer players from Birmingham, Alabama American men's soccer players African-American soccer players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Men's association football central defenders United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players 2024 Copa América players FC Dallas players FC Bayern Munich II players FC Bayern Munich footballers TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Crystal Palace F.C. players 3. Liga players Bundesliga players Premier League players Homegrown Players (MLS) American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England American expatriate sportspeople in England American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany United States men's under-23 international soccer players 21st-century American sportsmen 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players