'I didn't think it was reality' - Chris Richards on achieving the impossible, his World Cup dreams, and the brotherhood that defines the USMNT

In January, Richards was recognized as U.S. Soccer's 2025 Male Player of the Year. Realistically, he was the clear choice. He won 48.6 percent of the vote, more than double any of the other nominees. The award was clearly Richards' because he'd earned it.

In 2025, he played more games and more minutes than he ever had with the USMNT. He was a Gold Cup Best XI selection for his role in leading the team to the final. All the while, he lifted two trophies with Crystal Palace, cementing 2025 as the year his life changed. That, more than anything, was what that award meant to him; it meant that everything was changing for the better.

"I think when the award happened, I was super excited for it, but I feel like I still have another level to go," he says. "I want to win it more than once. It's amazing to win this, but I think I enjoyed it more for what it meant. It's not just me; it's where I come from, the people who helped me along the way, the kids back in Birmingham wanting to make this their life. That's why this meant so much more. It'll be there forever, and it's symbolic. That's why it's one of the proudest moments of my life.

"Growing up, I wanted to do this, but I didn't think it was reality."

The center back can pinpoint the moment he realized it was. He remembers sitting in his living room back in Alabama, wondering how far he could take it. Then he saw Christian Pulisic score for Borussia Dortmund and realized he could take things as far as he wanted. Pulisic was two years older than him, proving that Americans can play at the highest levels of Europe. Now, they're both Player of the Year winners.

"I'll never forget thinking like, 'Man, I want to be on that stage someday'," he says. "I wanted to do that, too. It made me want to work just that one percent harder. It's crazy that Christian and I play together now. He's not that much older than me, but I feel like when you see people who are having similar experiences to you, you think, 'Cool, I can be just like them'."

Now, all these years later, Richards has found his own place, which continues to evolve both in the U.S. and England.

It's safe to say that, for a while there, the sky was falling at Crystal Palace. Club captain Marc Guehi left in January, signing with Manchester City as his contract wore down. Manager Oliver Glasner announced he was leaving, too, although he'd stay on until the end of the season. Results took a dip, and everyone wondered what would happen next. Someone needed to step up.

"When Marc left, people were looking around like, 'Who will be the guy to step up?' and I think a few of us have. It's something I did all summer long with the national team, and that helped me at Palace," Richards says.

Since the start of February, Palace have played seven games, winning four and drawing two. Things have gotten better, and Richards is one of the reasons why. While he isn't officially a captain on the side, he has embraced being a vocal leader in the backline. 

"I think everyone talks about being a leader, but it's not something you can force," he says. "You look at our Palace team, and I think everyone knows the captain is a leader, but there's so much more to leading than the person wearing the armband. 

Speaking to GOAL this past summer, Richards revealed it was a process. A coach challenged him to be more, and Richards took some harsh words on the chin as part of that. It's paid off, though. Now, more than ever, Richards is comfortable being himself.

"Maybe my frontal lobe finally developed or something," he says with a laugh, "but I'm glad this strike of leadership hit me when it did."

The USMNT will be glad, too, as Richards has developed into a key player ahead of the World Cup. He's been thinking about that tournament more recently, which has caused him to think about the last one a bit more, too.

Even to this day, it bothers Richards that he wasn't there in 2022. While his teammates battled representing the U.S. in Qatar, he was alone back in London, doing rehab while thinking about everything he was missing.

That September, just weeks before the USMNT announced its roster for the World Cup, Richards suffered a hamstring injury. The hope was that he'd recover in time to take part. It didn't happen.

"I missed it by two weeks," he says. "It made it so much tougher for me because I felt like I was a part of the qualifying cycle. I did all of the hard parts. Then it got to the part where you're supposed to reap the benefits, and I got injured right before it."

So, while his friends were having the experience of a lifetime in Qatar, Richards was stuck in London. He was alone, too. His teammates were all either at the World Cup with their countries or on holiday. Richards, meanwhile, was putting in long hours at the training facility all by himself.

There were some bright moments, though. He went down to a pub with some family and friends to watch a USMNT game with some of the American Outlaws in London. It was fun, he says, to be a part of that environment. It was all a sense of mixed emotions, though.

"It was tough and easy to root for the boys at the same time," he says. "I'm in London watching the boys kill it at the World Cup, and I was so, so happy for them, but for myself, it was lonely. Yeah, that's what it was: lonely. I didn't want anything to do with soccer. I think it was because it was a dream I always had, and it felt like it just got ripped away from me right before it. It doesn't mean I wasn't rooting for the boys, though."

To understand that dynamic, you have to understand Richards' relationship with his teammates. Fortunately, he loves talking about it.

"The company you keep, it really helps you," Richards says. 

Right as Richards finishes the sentence, he points down to what he's wearing. 

"Toulouse. Mark McKenzie. I've got my jersey on right now," he shares. 

McKenzie is one of Richards' best friends. The two vacationed together with their families this past summer. McKenzie is one of the many USMNT players Richards checks in on regularly. It's a bond that goes beyond soccer.

"I'll be on the phone calling guys like Mark, Timothy Weah, and those guys help keep me grounded," he says. "Even though we all have different schedules, it's nice to just kick it with them and feel like they're all here in spirit."

The USMNT often describes these relationships as a brotherhood. Richards wants to personify that. It's why, whenever there's a heated moment on the field, Richards is the first to leap in. That brotherhood is real, and it's something that needs protecting.

"The easiest way for you to think of how I see this team is like they're my actual brothers," he says. "If somebody messes with your family, it's go mode. It's like that with the national team. We're like brothers. We spend enough time with each other. We love each other ,and for me, I put myself into that. I'm somebody who likes to crack jokes, but when we're on the field, it's my family vs. your family, and my family isn't going to lose. That's the approach I take to it."

Richards finds so much beauty in that found family, largely because of what it represents. It's something that's bigger than him. It's America, and what America is supposed to be.

"I think now you've seen the evolution of the game in America, and you can see that within the national team," he says. "We have players from all walks of life. You come to camp and hear 12 different accents. There are six different languages going around. We have a Japanese physio, a physio of Indian descent. That's one of the beautiful things about America, and I think we reflect that as a national team. We are really a melting pot of what really makes America America.

"I saw that quote with Ochocinco the other day, saying, 'Oh, if the inner city picks up a soccer ball, the U.S. will go crazy,' and I agree," Richards explains. "There are so many places in America that are untapped when it comes to soccer because basketball and football are so accessible. I think if they see guys like myself, like our national team, how we're this melting pot of all these different immigrants and different walks of life, see us fighting collectively to achieve things, I hope that inspires the next generation."

That's been on Richards' mind a lot more now, too. That's the power of a World Cup and the power that comes with seeing soccer being played on the biggest stage.

One year, during the few brief moments Richards has had something of a break, he went home to Birmingham, Ala. During that time, he went to watch his little brother play. The coach was the same one who coached Richards when he was younger. At one point, one of the players' dads approached Richards.

"He was like, 'You have no idea what you're doing for soccer in Birmingham. There are so many kids that would never have picked up a soccer ball until they saw it was possible,'" Richards says with a smile. "I think that, for me, means more than any trophy I've ever won. That means more than any game I've ever won. I know that I've shown kids from similar backgrounds that it's all possible."

Heading into the World Cup, the USMNT has a slogan, one coined by manager Mauricio Pochettino: "Be realistic and do the impossible." That resonates for Richards. There are no limits on what can happen going forward, largely because he's already surpassed any limit he had for himself growing up. 

"I understand that this is a year that can change my life," he says. "I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but I also understand that I've grown into this."

So what's next for Richards? What's the next award on the horizon, the next big piece of memorabilia to send home? Maybe this year will finally give him something to place alongside that debut ball - a moment that brings everything full circle.