Bayern Munich Alumni: Chris Richards voted U.S. Soccer Player of the Year

SB Nation

Former Bayern Munich prospect and current Crystal Palace center-back Chris Richards was voted U.S. Soccer’s Player of the Year:

U.S. Men’s National Team defender Chris Richards has been voted the 2025 U.S. Soccer

Male Player of the Year after an outstanding year in which he started 11 of 12 matches for which he was available for the USMNT and all six matches leading to the 2025 Gold Cup Final, a tournament in which he recorded two goals and earned a spot on the Best XI.

For Richards, it was a big honor and came as a shock as he found out on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show:

“It means a lot to me to join a very prestigious list of players. This has been a big year, and we have an even bigger year coming up. This shows how well we’ve done as a team and the momentum we are building towards the World Cup,” Richards said.

“It was sick. I see Pat all the time on College GameDay. It was cool for him to announce this on his show and to give a shoutout,” Richards added. “It just shows how much the game is growing in the U.S., how much respect there is for the sport, and how much the excitement is building for the World Cup this summer.”

There was never really a doubt that Richards would be a successful professional, but the timing of his arrival at Bayern Munich just happened to coincide with the squad being extremely deep, talented, and experienced on the backline. As such, he moved on and has lived up the lofty potential he brough with him from Alabama to Bavaria.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…