Early career Richardson was born in
Greenwich, London Growing up he would watch
Arsenal with his father Clyde who was a season ticket holder. He began playing football at Parkwood Primary School and his talent was very apparent at this young age, he was made captain of his school team and was invited to train with
Arsenal. He then moved to
West Ham United where he would begin training professionally. However, before he made his debut for the Londoners, he was signed by
Manchester United in 2001. He then scored his first goal for United in the
League Cup on 5 November 2002 against
Leicester City. Richardson enjoyed his first breakthrough during the
2002–03 season appearing nine times and scoring a goal for the first team. At the start
2003–04, he was given squad number 23 and only appeared three times, all of them in League Cup and
FA Cup. Former Manchester United captain
Bryan Robson, manager of
West Bromwich Albion, enquired about loaning Richardson, the deal was done straight away. Under Robson, Richardson made an instant impact on West Brom's quest to escape relegation. He was a regular in West Brom's first eleven, playing in central midfield. He scored three goals from 12 appearances At the start
2005–06, Richardson declined a further loan spell at West Brom in an attempt to win a regular place at Old Trafford. He made his break in Manchester United's first eleven in September 2005, when he appeared as an emergency left back, in place of the injured
Gabriel Heinze. He soon returned to midfield however, where he made several good performances. In October 2005, Richardson celebrated his 21st birthday by signing a new four-year contract with United. He went on to appear 36 times and score six goals that season.
Sunderland in 2011 On 16 July 2007, Richardson joined
Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £5.5 million. He signed a four-year contract with Sunderland, under the management of his former United captain
Roy Keane. After an indifferent start, it was discovered that he had a
stress fracture of the spine. This led to him being out of action for almost four months. He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 29 December 2007 against
Bolton Wanderers. Richardson scored two goals in the 2–0 win against
Portsmouth at the
Stadium of Light on 13 January 2008, also striking the bar to miss out on his
hat-trick. Since then he suffered a hamstring injury in training then this injury recurred in Sunderland's 3–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. On 23 August 2008, Richardson scored against
Tottenham Hotspur in the 56th minute, in a 2–1 win at
White Hart Lane. Richardson took a free kick that hit the post three times at
Fulham on 18 October, and later had another free kick disallowed as
Pascal Chimbonda was adjudged to be pushing in the wall. On 25 October 2008, Richardson scored the winning goal in the
Tyne–Wear derby, with a free kick. Richardson attracted interest from Bolton Wanderers in the 2009 January transfer window, but manager
Ricky Sbragia insisted that he was not for sale. Richardson scored his first goal of
2009–10 with an equaliser against West Ham United, which ended 2–2. Richardson was used in several positions throughout the season, whilst predominantly featuring in central midfield he also played at left back – his performances there led to many touting him as a surprise
World Cup inclusion. In the buildup to
2010–11, Richardson committed his future to the club by signing a new three-year contract. Soon after, he became first-choice left back at the club citing Brazilian full-back
Maicon as inspiration for taking up his new position, saying "I watched the World Cup and saw the way guys like Maicon were bombing forward – and I thought "I can do that". He opened his scoring account for the season on 22 January away to
Blackpool scoring two goals in the first half. After deploying him in an attacking role, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce hailed Richardson's versatility saying "I must have asked him to play in five or six positions this season and certainly in that position he enjoys it, it's something he revels in". He then added "He was the outstanding player on the pitch. In the first half he was brilliant, his pace was superb." Richardson scored directly from a free kick in Sunderland's next match, a 4–2 home defeat to
Chelsea. Richardson made his 100th Premier League appearance for Sunderland at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 12 February, assisting
Asamoah Gyan's opener in a 2–1 defeat. Richardson's first goal of
2011–12 came in a 2–1 defeat at Norwich. Richardson was on target again in a defeat at Wolves under caretaker manager Eric Black, following Steve Bruce's departure. In this match against Wolves on 4 December 2011, Richardson scored the opening goal, a long range shot from the left, and celebrated by removing his shirt, revealing a T-shirt with the slogan "I belong to Jesus". He was booked for removing his shirt. Sunderland went on to lose the match 2–1.Under new manager
Martin O'Neill, Richardson began to make impressive progress after being shifted into his preferred left wing position, making another contribution in his team's 3–2 victory away to
Queens Park Rangers on 21 December 2011 after setting up two goals from corner kicks. On 18 February 2012, he scored his first FA Cup goal for the club against Arsenal at the Stadium of Light in the fifth round in which he scored the first goal in Sunderland's 2–0 win.
Fulham in 2013 On 31 August 2012, Richardson signed for Fulham from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, reported to be approximately £2 million. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against
Southampton on 7 October.
Aston Villa in 2014 On 11 July 2014, Richardson signed for
Aston Villa on a two-year contract and was reunited with his former manager at Sunderland, Roy Keane, who was Villa's assistant manager at the time. He made his debut in a 1–0 victory against Stoke. Richardson got his first assist in a 2–1 victory against
Hull City at
Villa Park, sliding in a low cross which
Andreas Weimann slotted home from 10 yards. Richardson received a straight red card on 13 December 2014 for a late challenge on
Stéphane Sessègnon during a 1–0 away defeat to West Brom. After Villa's relegation from the Premier League, on 10 June 2016, it was announced that Richardson would leave Villa on the expiry of his contract.
Later career On 12 October 2016, Richardson joined
Championship club
Cardiff City on a contract until January 2017. On 29 December 2016, Richardson was released from his contract. On 12 April 2017, Richardson trialled at
La Liga club
Granada CF with a view to a contract until the end of
2016–17. ==International career==