Ex-Man Utd star who won Premier League looks unrecognisable after drastic career change

Kieran Richardson has swapped football boots for luxury watches in a surprising career twist. The 40-year-old began his journey at Old Trafford, signing his first professional contract in 2002. He went on to score 11 goals in 81 appearances and even clinched a Premier League title with during the 2006/07 season before transferring to .

At the Stadium of Light, Richardson quickly became a fan favourite, netting 15 times in 149 games and etching his name into club folklore with a blistering free-kick against Newcastle in the 2008 Wear-Tyne derby - which left goalkeeper Shay Given helpless. Following his time at Sunderland, he had spells at Fulham, Aston Villa, and Cardiff City, eventually retiring from the sport in 2017.

Unlike many of his peers who remain in the football world as pundits or managers post-retirement, Richardson has chosen an entirely different path. He now jets around the globe selling high-end timepieces. Despite having a storied Premier League career to leverage, the London-born ex-footballer revealed to Ladbrokes Fanzone last year that he prefers not to rest on his laurels, saying: "Whenever I meet someone new, I don't even say I was a footballer anymore, I just say I sell watches for a living.

"The places I go, in the business world, most people don't even really know about football. If I was to meet anyone now, and they asked me who I am or what I do, I'd just say I sell high value watches around the world. Then, a lot of people will go on and check me out on Google, maybe, and they'd see my career in football, and then it goes on from there," reports .

"The football career definitely helps, actually, because it gives people a sense of trust. I feel like my clients do really trust me, and so they should. The football background definitely helps, for sure. But, obviously, you still need to be knowledgeable about the product, and know what you're talking about.

"Luckily enough, I've been doing watches for a long time now, so I'm quite savvy on them, even though I'm still trying to learn more every day." Richardson, who now looks almost unrecognisable from his playing days with a beard and slicked-back hair with a ponytail, also expressed contentment with his quiet transition away from football, emphasizing his focus on his new path.

He shared: "I've never been the kind of guy to go and make a song and dance out of my retirement. I don't really care, to be honest. I had a great career, I enjoyed it, but I've moved onto other things now. When I was a kid, I had hobbies, right? Football was always my number one, but my second was watches.

"I always loved watches. My father was into watches, I was into watches, and throughout my career I'd always be buying and learning about new watches. I just happen to have left one hobby, and gone into another one, that's how I see it. I still feel like I'm living the same life. It's crazy."

"I'm really, really blessed to be in a position where I don't call my work, my work. Even when I was a footballer, it never felt like work to me, it was something that I loved. It's probably why I didn't come out and say I'd retired, because I don't feel like I have retired. I'm still doing something that I love."

Under the company name Broadwalk, Richardson sells a wide range of flashy timepieces by some of the world's biggest brands, from Rolex to Patek Phillipe. Featured on his business' site are a rare Rolex GMT-Master II "Batgirl," an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Skeleton, a Richard Mille Red Mask, a Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5968G-010, and much more.