AFTER the £12 million transfer of Theo Walcott to Arsenal, the story of Dean Richards offers a salutary and timely reminder about how fleetingly a young footballer can have a value. Before Walcott became the most expensive 16-year-old in the professional game, the previous transfer fee record at Southampton — his former club — was held by Richards when Rupert Lowe accepted £8.1 million to let him move to Tottenham Hotspur under Glenn Hoddle.
The Southampton chairman cashed in on Walcott last week, breaking that club record, while this week Richards cashed in an insurance policy after his premature retirement from the game because of illness.
His compensation of £2 million is the highest sum paid to a British footballer, but it represents about half of what the 31-year-old central defender would have earned over the rest of his playing career.
“It just shows that you don’t ever know and you can never take anything for granted,” Ben Lambourne, his agent at World Famous Football, said.
Richards, who is married with three children, retired in March last year after three leading medical specialists warned him that he could suffer a brain haemorrhage if he continued to head the ball.
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At Spurs, he struggled to find his form as he suffered from dizzy spells and headaches. Diagnoses ranged from an inner-ear infection to a brain tumour. The latter has never been ruled out.
Richards made 403 appearances, scoring 25 goals, but he never played for England. He wants to stay involved in grassroots football, perhaps through soccer schools, or to pursue a career in punditry. He is also a shareholder in his agent’s business.