When Kieran Richardson travelled to Greece with Manchester United in October 2002, he had just turned 18 and was earning £180 a week. Richardson had been offered a professional contract, but he and his dad had decided to turn it down until he felt he’d earned it. “I don’t want to be a pro until I’m worthy of being a pro.” On the 23rd of October, United were playing Olympiacos in the Champions League, with Richardson named among the substitutes. United had taken a 2-0 lead before Olympiacos fought back to make it 2-2. Paul Scholes scored in the 83rd minute to put United ahead again, and with only a few minutes remaining, Ferguson suddenly called Richardson over. “Kieran, get on the pitch now.” Richardson hadn’t even warmed up, but Ferguson was already shouting towards the referee to get the substitution made. “Ref, do the thing now, get him on.” “I’m like, ‘s***, get on quick.’” As Richardson ran past Ferguson to make his debut, he heard him say: “Happy birthday, son.” Richardson replaced Juan Sebastián Verón, and United held on to win 3-2. There was a reason Ferguson had been so desperate to get him onto the pitch. United’s players received a £12,000 bonus for winning a Champions League match, and Richardson had just qualified for it. “I was in the changing room after and thinking, ‘woah, there’s big dough coming in.’” For someone earning £180 a week, it was an unbelievable amount of money. When Richardson checked his payslip, there it was. “I saw £12,000, Champions League bonus.” “Bang, £12,000. Sick.” And he already had plans for how to spend it. “Get me down to the Trafford Centre and I’m buying some jeans and trainers.” Richardson never forgot what Ferguson had done for him that night. “It was such a nice touch, what a nice guy.” #football