I was Premier League star for Manchester United star and gave Arsenal FA Cup KO

Most retired professional footballers struggle to make the same amount of dough when they hang up their boots.

But that’s not the case for one ex-Premier League star, thanks to himmaking one of his other hobbies away from the world of sport his full-time job – investing in luxury watches.

Kieran Richardson came through the Red Devils‘ academy and made 81 first-team appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2002 and 2007.

He then went on to have spells with West Brom, Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa and finally Cardiff and also earnt eight caps for England.

However by the age of 33 he was ready to hang up his boots, having become disillusioned with playing.

But whilst most ex-Premier League stars turn to management, coaching, punditry, or being involved in football in some capacity, Richardson – now 38 – turned to one of his other hobbies instead.

The 2006 League Cup winner is now the co-owner of the Broadwalk Group who buy and sell timepieces.

The ex-winger’s love for watches started aged 16 when he bought his first Cartier Tank model.

Now, he has a number of major clients, exclusively trades Richard Milles, Patek Philippes, Audemars Piguets and Rolexes and his biggest sale saw him bank £1.7million.

He even turned down a watch worth £300,000 because it was ‘too niche’.

However he insists his new business venture isn’t about the cash, and he does it purely because he enjoys doing it.

Speaking on The Steven Sulley Study podcast the former England star said: “Life’s about experiences for me, I’m not driven by money.

“I’d rather have a great holiday, drive a car hard, it’s a thrill. There’s no point buying a car if you’re not going to feel it.

“You have to make sure you trust your dealer. 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.

“I only invest what I know and it can go t**s up but it can be very profitable too – I’ve made money from it.”

But whilst his income now comes from his passion for timepieces, Richardson still loves football – and he admits his affection for the game has grown since retiring.

The Greenwich-born ex-footballer is now even looking to get a season ticket at his boyhood club Arsenal, too.

That’s despite him knocking the Gunners out of the FA Cup with Sunderland in 2012.

“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,” he explained.

“I watch football so much now – I didn’t watch it much as a footballer, I didn’t really care.

“Now as someone not playing, I enjoy being an Arsenal fan, I’m buying a season ticket next season. I don’t think there was a conflict of interests.

“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.”

So what did he think of his Manchester United teammates?

Well, Richardson’s certainly got a lot of time for Roy Keane, it seems.

“Paul Scholes is definitely the most talented footballer I’ve been around,” he added.

“Sir Alex is No1, the best manager of all time. I really enjoyed working for Roy – he got the best out of me, he’s the best pundit now.

“Both were fiery, but Roy was probably more. He would never ask you to do something he couldn’t do himself.

“Being a captain is about leading and getting the best of the team and he was perfect at that, everyone respected that.

“Everyone sees him on TV – he was the same on the pitch and in the changing room.”