Former Man Utd starlet is unrecognisable nowadays after turning to surprise new career

Manchester United academy graduate Kieran Richardson is unrecognisable after turning his hand to a new profession after retirement.

Richardson made his United debut under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2002 and would go on to play 81 times for the Red Devils.

During his time at Old Trafford, Richardson scored 11 goals, winning the League Cup in 2006 and Premier League title in 2007.

He would also represent West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Fulham and Aston Villa in the top flight before retiring with Championship outfit Cardiff City in 2016.

At international level, Richardson earned eight caps for England and scored two goals.

Since hanging up his boots, the 39-year-old has followed another passion away from football.

Richardson is now a luxury watch dealer and deals with expensive timepieces daily.

During an appearance on the Steven Sulley Study podcast, he explained: "You have to make sure you trust your dealer.

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"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. I have a lot of clients but don't like to tell the big names - I don't want to open that can of worms, these watches are proper assets.

"I'm private. I have massive clients, trust me - it's different if they want to put it out there. I am thinking about people, not the pound notes. Safety."

Richardson joined United's academy in 2001 after spending his formative years with West Ham United.

He grew up an Arsenal fan, who the Red Devils battled for Premier League dominance in the early 00s.

Steven Sulley/YouTube)

Ironically, Richardson opened the scoring in a 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round win over Arsenal while playing for Sunderland in 2012.

Towards the end of his career, which spanned 14 years, Richardson started to fall out of love with the game and view as any other job.

He continued: "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.

"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. I knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup and I scored against them."