Prince Richard of Hanover

Richard Turlington
Personal information
Full name	Richard Thomas Christian Alexander
Date of birth	August 5, 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	London, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Arsenal
Number	10
Youth career
2011 - 2019	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team
2019 -	Arsenal
International career
2016 - 2018	England U18
2018 - 2020	England U20
2020 -	England
Honours
Men's football
Representing England
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
UEFA Nations League
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
FIFA U-20 World Cup
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Prince Richard of Hanover (Richard Thomas Christian Alexander; born 5 August 1999), known professionally as Richard Turlington and mononymously as Richard, is an English professional footballer and a member of the British royal family. The only son of King Thomas and the American supermodel Christy Turlington, Richard currently plays as a forward for Premier League club Arsenal, which he captains, and the England national team. Known for his versatility, positioning, and clinical finishing, Richard is considered to be one of the world's most talented playmakers and one of football's most complete and dynamic all-rounder players with an ability to play in various offensive roles, be it as a striker, attacking midfielder, winger, or a wide midfielder.

A product of the Arsenal youth academy, in 2019, Richard was promoted to the senior team where in his debut season he won the FA Cup with Arsenal via a 4-1 win over Chelsea. Then, in the 2020-21 season, he helped Arsenal win their first continental title in a 5-4 win on penalties against Manchester United in the 2021 UEFA Europa League Final. In the 2022-23 season, Richard spearheaded Arsenal's historic title campaign to eventually win their first league title in two decades and also their first UEFA Champions League title via a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Liverpool. In that same season, he also marked a new record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season with 45 goals, surpassing the previous record of 41 goals by Sir William Carter. In the following season, Richard captained Arsenal to their second consecutive league and European titles on the twentieth anniversary of "The Invincibles" during which he also became the club's leading all-time goalscorer.

On the international level, Richard has come to represent England from the youth level where he saw some success on the international stage, winning the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup while otherwise finishing as runner-up in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2020, Richard was promoted to the England senior team with his first major tournament being the UEFA Euro 2020 in a 4-1 win over Italy where he scored a hat-trick in the finals. In 2021, he also won the UEFA Nations League in its second season with England, defeating Spain 2-0 in the finals. Following this, Richard represented England at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1-0 in the finals and later receiving the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot award as the tournament's top goalscorer with ten goals. The following year, Richard scored twice in a 3-2 win over Spain to win the UEFA Euro 2024 where he finished with and equalised the record of most goals scored (14) held by Sir William Carter.

Early Life

Born on 5 August 1999, Richard was born as the only son and second overall child of King Thomas and the American supermodel Christy Turlington. Named Richard Thomas Christian Alexander, Richard took his given name from the famous English monarch King Richard I, better known as "Richard the Lionheart", while his middle names were taken from his father, the masculine form of his mother's given name, and the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great.

Born in a somewhat athletic and sporting family, from an early age, Richard was thoroughly exposed to sports, from which he came to develop a lifelong passion in the likes of football, tennis, archery, and others. In the end, despite being the nephew of tennis greats Prince Nelson and Steffi Graf, Richard ultimately came to fancy football the most, a sport that his famous half-brother had participated in and become incredibly successful himself, thereby endearing the young prince to follow in the latter's footsteps.

Club Career

Arsenal F.C.

Early Years & FA Cup Win

While initially poised for a career at Manchester United similar to that of his half-brother, who particularly enjoyed a very successful career at the Premier League club, at the age of twelve, Richard was ultimately enrolled at the Arsenal academy, a move said to be driven by the transfer of Richard's older sister Alexandra from Manchester United to Arsenal herself. For the next few years or so, after initially starting as a traditional striker, Richard, owing to his goalscoring prowess, coupled with his particular sense of creativity, came to gradually adopt the more deep-lying role of an attacking midfielder, a role that he would come to successfully embrace and perfect in his subsequent years as a youth prospect for Arsenal.

Following an almost decade-long stint at the academy, Richard's growing prowess as a footballer soon caught the attention of the newly-hired Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, who was then recently appointed to succeed his somewhat unsuccessful predecessor Unai Emery. Recognising his talent and having somewhat rightfully seen the young prince as the successor to the club's aging attacking midfielder Mesut Özil, Arteta soon handed Richard his debut with the senior squad, namely in Arsenal's 2019-20 opening match against Newcastle United on 11 August 2019 which ended in a 1-0 win. Then, following a heavy 1-3 defeat to Liverpool on August 24th, Richard soon made his impact at the club by scoring a brace in a home match against Tottenham Hotspur, thereby allowing them to win the match outright by 4-2. On October 21st, after Arsenal were initially down by 0-1 following a goal from Sheffield United striker Lys Mousset, Richard proceeded to score a defining hat-trick in the 54th minute to seal the victory for his club, which he promptly followed up with a second consecutive hat-trick in the following match against Crystal Palace, who consequently fell 2-5 to their opponents by the 76th minute. Later, on December 9th, Richard capped off a relatively promising first season with a third hat-trick against West Ham United, with the royal ultimately scoring a total of seventeen goals, the second-highest behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with twenty-two goals. Following this, it was soon announced that the royal had signed an official four-year contract with the club during which Richard himself expressed his "utmost joy at being part of a larger and growing Arsenal project", stating, "Ultimately, I see myself winning trophies and eventually retiring with Arsenal rather than with any other club and that is something I'm planning to work very hard to achieve". Meanwhile, not long after scoring his first FA Cup goal in the quarter-finals against Sheffield United, Richard would prove instrumental in delivering a 4-1 victory for Arsenal in the finals against Chelsea, with the royal scoring a brace in the 45th minute to complement the other two goals by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Conversely, despite scoring his first two goals in the EFL Cup in the third round against Nottingham Forest, Richard and his club were ultimately eliminated in the fourth round on penalties by Liverpool after a tight 5-5 match. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Europa League, despite notably scoring a hat-trick and two goals in the two respective fixtures involving Eintrach Frankfurt, Richard was ultimately unable to help his club progress beyond the round of 16 where they were defeated 2-2 on aggregate by Olympiacos who prevailed thanks to the away goals rule to progress to the quarter-finals.

Europa League Success

In the following 2020-21 season, Richard initially started the season with a series of defeats to the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester City, and Aston Villa, against who Richard notably came close to establishing a draw by scoring two goals for his side, although Aston Villa ultimately prevailed with three goals from their side. Nonetheless, on December 13th, Richard would once more prove his worth by scoring a memorable hat-trick in a home match against Burnley whose only goal came through a 73rd-minute own goal by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Just three days later, on December 16th, Richard would come to score two tiebreaking goals against Southampton to deliver the club's fifth win of the season after thirteen matches, which had come about amidst a series of draws and losses to their opponents. On 2 January 2021, Richard also helped to mark a dominant 7-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, who consequently fell to a hat-trick from the royal as well as goals from Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka, and Alexandre Lacazette. Then, in a match against Manchester United on January 30th, Richard helped score two tiebreaking goals to break the 0-0 deadlock with The Red Devils. In the meantime, despite personally scoring a consequential goal in the fourth round of the FA Cup against Southampton, who Arsenal later defeated 3-0 on penalties, the club were ultimately eliminated in the following round by a 0-3 defeat to Leicester City, thereby quashing their hopes of defending their title. Separately, in the UEFA Europa League, with twelve goals scored, Richard proved to be an important player for his squad, scoring a hat-trick in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Slavia Prague and later a brace in the first leg of the semi-finals against Villareal, thereby allowing Arsenal to progress to the finals where they then defeated Manchester United 5-4 on penalties after goalkeeper Bernd Leno successfully saved an attempt by Manchester United midfielder Fred to secure the club's first-ever European title. Owing to this success, Arsenal subsequently contested the UEFA Super Cup with UEFA Champions League winners Tottenham Hotspur where despite a brace from Richard himself along with a goal from Alexandre Lacazette, the two clubs ultimately drew 3-3 against one another, resulting in a penalty shootout which Tottenham Hotspur subsequently won 5-3.

On 13 August 2021, Richard started Arsenal's 2021-22 season with a lone goal against Brentford, although this itself, coupled with a brace against Manchester City, proved not enough to avert three straight defeats at the beginning of the season. Nonetheless, the club was quick to rebound from their initial losses, with Richard scoring a hat-trick to complete a 4-0 victory over Norwich City. Further matches followed and it was not long until Richard scored two consecutive hat-tricks in matches against Aston Villa and Leicester City respectively, further adding onto Arsenal's growing winning streak. Then, on 1 January 2022, Richard also helped contribute to a 4-2 victory over defending champions Manchester City, and on March 16th, helped score two goals to seal a draw with Liverpool who initially found the lead through goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino. In the end, despite a series of defeats afterward, Arsenal was again able to achieve a third-place finish, thereby qualifying them for the UEFA Champions League. In the meantime, Richard himself scored his first two goals in the UEFA Champions League in a group stage match against Zenit, who they consequently defeated 5-0 as a result. Following this, Richard went on to score a notable hat-trick in the second leg of the round of 16 fixtures against Lille, who consequently fell 1-8 on aggregate to Arsenal, therefore allowing them to face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals where despite a brace in the first leg from Richard himself, they were narrowly defeated 4-5 on aggregate by the La Liga giants. Meanwhile, a complimentary performance from Richard saw Arsenal progress to the 2022 EFL Cup Final where they later lost 1-2 to Chelsea.

Premier League and Champions League Success

On 5 August 2022, Richard kicked off Arsenal's 2022-23 season with a dominant 5-0 win over Crystal Palace, in which the prince scored a quick 24th-minute hat-trick before a subsequent goal by Gabriel Martinelli and a final Crystal Palace own-goal completed the 5-0 rout. Not long afterward, Richard scored a second consecutive hat-trick to deliver a 7-2 win over Leicester City. Then, despite a 1-3 loss to Manchester United in which Bukayo Saka scored the only goal for the club, Arsenal promptly rebounded with a 6-0 win over Brentford, who fell 0-6 thanks to a hat-trick from Richard himself. In the meantime, Richard also provided a lone tiebreaking goal in a home match against Newcastle United on January 3rd, which saw the club extend an almost eleven-match unbeaten streak that eventually came to an end in a home match on February 15th against Manchester City in which Bukayo Saka provided the lone goal via a 42nd-minute penalty. Then, on 26 April 2023, in a gripping away match against Manchester City, Richard provided a memorable hat-trick to initially give Arsenal a narrow 4-3 lead over their more dominant opponents until a late Erling Haaland goal in the 95th-minute saw the latter hastily level with their opponents via Erling Haaland to avoid a total defeat in an ultimate 4-4 draw. Later, despite a subsequent 0-3 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, Richard later provided a memorable hat-trick in the next match against Nottingham Forest that saw Arsenal's ambitions of winning their first Premier League title in almost two decades since "The Invincibles" finally sealed as their 3-1 win resulted in them being beyond the reach of second-place Manchester City and third-place Tottenham Hotspur, the previous champions. In the meantime, his hat-trick against Nottingham Forest saw Richard become Arsenal's third-highest goalscorer in the Premier League behind Ian Wright and Thierry Henry while also becoming the new fastest player to score 100 goals in the Premier League with 121 matches played, beating the previous record of 124 matches held by Alan Shearer.

Meanwhile, despite an early exit from the EFL Cup, Arsenal instead saw significant progress in the FA Cup where Richard crucially scored a winning brace against Manchester City in the fourth round to seal a 2-1 win, only to capitalise upon it with another brace against Burnley although the club was ultimately defeated by eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the semi-finals courtesy of a goal from defender Ben Davies. Otherwise, Richard himself proved crucial in helping Arsenal to their first UEFA Champions League final in years during which the club marked a 5-3 win on aggregate over AC Milan in the round of 16, a narrow 4-3 aggregate win over Serie A champions Napoli in the quarter-finals, and a memorable 8-4 win on aggregate over Inter Milan in the semi-finals to eventually face fellow English club Liverpool in the finals where a hat-trick from Richard won Arsenal their first-ever UEFA Champions League title, a feat that they later followed up on with their first UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup titles by defeating Manchester United and Fluminense 4-2 and 6-0 respectively during which Richard himself scored a hat-trick to defeat The Red Devils while also sharing a hat-trick with his close teammate Bukayo Saka to comfortably dispatch the Brazilian club.

Later on, for his crucial role in leading Arsenal to their first Premier League title in almost two decades and the club's first UEFA Champions League title, amidst reported interest from Saudi football clubs who were then on a streak of acquiring high-profile European footballers, it was announced that Richard, who also subsequently won the Ballon d'Or for his heroics, had signed a new five-year contract with the club and, following the departure of Granit Xhaka to the German side Bayer 04 Leverkusen, was also appointed as the club's new captain, thereby solidifying his position at Arsenal after graduating through the academy at the start of the 2019-20 season. Meanwhile, during an ensuing press conference announcing both his contract renewal and appointment as club captain, Richard said, "If it's not clear enough to everybody else, I have chosen to and will remain for the rest of my career at Arsenal, a great and prestigious football club where I'll absolutely stamp my legacy and leave my mark for good once I eventually retire. Until then, one can be safely assured that I'll never wear any other jersey on myself other than those of England or Arsenal". Meanwhile, amidst rumours of interest in him from Saudi clubs, Richard dismissed them as "rubbish tabloid talk", stating, "By all accounts, I am one of the greatest strikers in the world and am currently in my prime right now so why would I go to some football league that nobody has heard of until now and downgrade myself from playing in the world's most competitive league to playing in some subpar league far away in the Middle East? It is simply not happening".

Double League & European Successes

In the 2023-24 season, following their initial 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the William Carter Shield, Richard began the season promisingly with a brace in a 4-1 win against Nottingham Forest in the very first match, having also coincidentally scored a hat-trick against the latter in the closing days of the previous season. A second consecutive brace from Richard soon followed in the ensuing match against Crystal Palace which Arsenal consequently won 3-0. On September 24th, he scored a decisive tiebreaker in a dramatic 3-2 win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur in his first encounter against The Lilywhites since his brother Sir William Carter was succeeded by former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, which he then followed up on with a brace in a 6-0 demolition of Bournemouth to put Arsenal on top by the end of September with Manchester City having suffered a shock 1-2 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Then, on October 28th, Richard scored a brace to complement a hat-trick in a dominant 7-0 win over Sheffield United. On December 2nd, Richard scored a 60th-minute goal to complement an earlier 6th-minute goal from Bukayo Saka to mark a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, thereby ensuring Arsenal's position on the top before going on to score a hat-trick in a 7-3 win over newly-promoted Luton Town. On December 23rd, Richard assisted a goal from Gabriel Magalhães to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead over rivals Liverpool who later equalised via a goal from Mohamed Salah to avoid defeat. On December 31st, Richard, having assisted an initial 5th-minute goal by teammate Bukayo Saka, went on to score a hat-trick to deliver a stunning 4-2 win over Fulham before promptly following up on it with another hat-trick to dismantle Crystal Palace 8-0. Meanwhile, on February 4th, Richard assisted all three goals in a 3-1 home win over rivals Liverpool. Likewise, on February 11th, Richard once more assisted thrice and scored twice to mark an overwhelming 8-0 win over West Ham United whose defeat at the hands of Arsenal marks the club's biggest away win in history.

Then, on April 6th, after sitting out the previous game against Luton Town, Richard returned on his 150th league appearance for Arsenal to score a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Around a week later, on April 14th, Richard scored a crucial hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Aston Villa to maintain the gap between their title rivals, a feat he repeated on April 23rd to then demolish Chelsea 8-0. Eventually, after scoring once to ensure a 4-2 away victory over Tottenham Hotspur, on May 4th, Richard starred in a 3-0 win over Bournemoth, a result that, with 91 points and two games left, saw Arsenal mathematically clinch their second straight league title on precisely the twentieth anniversary of the club's league title win by the famed "Invincibles" squad. Meanwhile, after helping his club defeat Porto early on, Richard also scored twice on aggregate to help eliminate a declining Bayern Munich from the UEFA Champions League, only to follow it up with another brace to also eliminate Real Madrid in the semi-finals, thereby setting up an all-England final at Wembley Stadium against the club's North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur where Richard subsequently scored twice yet again to mark a 3-1 victory and thus Arsenal's second straight European title. Following this, given the timing of the club's recent successes, namely around the twentieth anniversary of "The Invincibles", it was subsequently announced that Arsenal's home ground, known previously as "The Emirates", would be renamed to "Invincible Highbury", a new name combining "The Invincibles" and the area where the club's old sadium was located.

In the ensuing 2024-25 season, Richard, fresh off a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Manchester United in the William Carter Shield, began the season with an assist on teammate Bukayo Saka's goal in a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day. In the following match, Richard scored twice to help defeat Aston Villa 4-0, followed by a goal in a 2-0 win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur and a subsequent hat-trick in a commanding 5-1 away win over back-to-back runners up Manchester City, during which the royal's celebrations, particularly during his 79th-minute hat-trick, sparked controversy due to its perceived "provocative" and "aggressive" nature, as Richard and his rival, Manchester City's lone goalscorer Erling Haaland, were seen coming close to exchanging physical blows amidst a tense atmosphere between the two sides. Then, a week later, an assist by Richard for a Gabriel Martinelli goal in a 4-2 home victory against Leicester City saw Arsenal remain as the only undefeated side by the sixth game week. Meanwhile, in the first season under the UEFA Champions League's new format, Richard soon scored his first two goals in a 2-0 win over Italian side Atalanta, whom they previously defeated 6-0 in the UEFA Super Cup, followed by a hat-trick in a commanding 5-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.

International Career

England U-18 & U-20

Owing to a growing profile at a relatively young age, Richard quickly earned a spot at playing international football when he was soon chosen to represent England under the auspices of its under-18 squad where early on, in a friendly match against Iceland, he scored a remarkable hat-trick to quickly establish himself in the group, which he then followed up with a brace against Wales. Soon enough, Richard would face his first major tournament as an England international in the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the first match of the tournament, namely a group stage match against France, Richard once again provided a hat-trick to complete a 5-1 demolition of France, which he immediately followed up with two goals against the Netherlands in a 4-1 victory. Then, with qualification for the knockout stages all but secured, Richard provided one vital assist for England to win 2-1 over Croatia, thereby qualifying them for the knockout stages, which consists of a semi-finals stage and a final for the four qualified nations. In the ensuing semi-finals match against Italy, Richard provided an early 8th-minute goal to give England a 1-0 lead over their opponents before a brace from Federico Dimarco saw Italy regain the lead with two goals to one until an 87th-minute own-goal by Alberto Picchi resulted in the match going to penalties which England subsequently won 5-3 to advance to the finals where once again Richard provided another goal to draw with their French opponents 3-3, again resulting in a penalty shootout that England otherwise narrowly lost 4-5. Nonetheless, with seven goals scored, Richard himself became the tournament's top scorer despite his national team's defeat and was subsequently the subject of considerable praise from many for his overall performance at the tournament.

The following year, Richard would come to participate in his first-ever World Cup tournament, namely the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In the first match, namely a group stage match against Argentina, Richard first provided a single goal to add to a 4-0 demolition of Argentina before then providing two tiebreaking goals against their African opponents Guinea who were consequently defeated 1-3. Similarly, in the final group stage match against South Korea, Richard once again provided a vital 22nd-minute goal that saw England narrowly triumph over the South Koreans to win all three of their group stage matches, thereby qualifying them for the knockout stages where their first opponent was Costa Rica in the round of 16, who England narrowly defeated 2-1. Then, in the ensuing quarter-finals fixture against Mexico, Richard provided a decisive and quick 25th-minute hat-trick that saw England ultimately defeat their opponents with a staggering 4-0 result to subsequently face Italy in the semi-finals and later Venezuela in the finals where they narrowly defeated their opponents 1-0 to win the tournament. Once again, Richard finished as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals to his name, and his profile only grew further.

In that same year, Richard also earned a promotion to the under-20 squad, with his first major tournament with his newfound squad being the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, his second consecutive European tournament in a year. Beginning with a group stage match against Bulgaria, Richard quickly established himself among his new peers by scoring twice in the match, thereby delivering a final 4-0 victory before soon following it up with a 69th-minute hat-trick that saw England best their Dutch opponents 4-0 to immediately guarantee qualification for the knockout stages although this itself did not stop England from later achieving a dominant 4-1 win over Germany in the third and final group stage match. Following this, Richard then contributed another hat-trick to secure a comfortable 4-1 win for England over the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, which they followed up with a narrow 2-1 win over Portugal, with Richard once again finishing as the undisputed top goalscorer with eight goals in total.

The following year, Richard would also participate in the 2018 edition, which England began with a 4-2 win over Turkey, in which Richard himself scored an additional goal. Then, Richard went on to provide a decisive tiebreaking goal against Ukraine in a 2-1 win although this was otherwise followed by a heavy 0-5 defeat to France that Richard later called "the worst day ever of my football life". Nonetheless, qualification for the knockout stages was secured, with England soon marking a dominant 4-1 victory over Portugal to reach the finals for three editions in a row, where they ultimately lost 0-1 to Italy. Meanwhile, in a break from tradition, Richard himself did not finish as the tournament's top goalscorer, with Portuguese players Jota and Francisco Trincão instead sharing the honour with five goals each.

Afterward, Richard would participate in his final tournament with the youth squad, namely the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Grouped alongside the likes of Qatar, the United States, and Nigeria, England began the tournament with a dominant 3-1 win over the United States and a 2-1 win over Qatar where on both occasions, Richard only provided a couple of assists each time despite the lack of goals although he later did provide the lone England goal in the third and final group stage match against Nigeria, which they lost 1-3. Nonetheless, following a narrow 1-0 win over Panama in the round of 16, Richard would prove vital once again by scoring twice each time in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, where England respectively defeated Colombia 4-1 and Italy 5-2 to advance to the finals where they ultimately lost 1-3 to South Korea. Similarly, with only five goals scored, Richard was unable to finish as the top scorer as he previously did, with Norwegian star Erling Haaland instead capping off the tournament with nine goals to his name, all of which were scored in a heavy 12-0 demolition of Honduras in the group stages.

England national team

Upon reaching adulthood, despite initial rumours of him following in his half-brother's footsteps by representing the United States, Richard ultimately decided in favour of representing England, stating, "I'm an English prince, and therefore I'll play like an English prince". To that end, the UEFA Euro 2020 would mark Richard's first major senior tournament as an England international. Beginning strongly in the group stage with a brace in a 3-0 win over Croatia, Richard then provided another brace in a 3-0 win over Scotland before later contributing a hat-trick in a dominant 4-0 win over the Czech Republic. Following this, Richard would score another brace in a 4-1 win over Denmark in the semi-finals as England later went on to mark a dominant 4-1 victory over Spain in the finals in which Richard himself scored a hat-trick to compliment an early goal from Luke Shaw, the earliest in a Euros final, while Italy managed only a single response via Leonardo Bonucci. Meanwhile, in 2021, Richard also helped England reach their second consecutive UEFA Nations League finals where a decisive 2-1 win over France in the semi-finals was followed by a 2-0 win over Spain to confirm England's first UEFA Nations League title in which defender Harry Maguire and captain Harry Kane scored once each to deliver their national team's victory. Meanwhile, with a total of six goals scored, Richard himself finished as the joint top scorer alongside Romelu Lukaku, Erling Haaland, and Ferran Torres.

In the following year of 2022, despite a somewhat controversy-ridden tournament, Richard, along with other major England players, flew to Qatar to represent the country in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Soon enough, England began the tournament strong with a 9-2 win over Iran in which Richard instantly scored his first World Cup hat-trick to notably deliver Iran's biggest defeat in history. Then, following a dominant 6-0 win over Wales where he scored a second consecutive hat-trick, in a highly-anticipated match between England and the United States, Richard went on to score a brace in England's 2-0 victory over the United States, a feat that he followed up on by scoring a crucial pair of goals in the quarter-finals to achieve a narrow 3-2 victory over runners-up France in which captain Harry Kane missed a second penalty that could have otherwise made it 4-2. Then, Richard also scored a memorable hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Morocco, who previously staged an upset by knocking out a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal, before later capping the tournament off with a 1-0 win over Argentina in the finals via a lone goal from teammate Mason Mount in the 39th minute. With thirteen goals scored across the entirety of the tournament, Richard himself finished as the tournament's top scorer, thereby rewarding him with the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot award, while captain Harry Kane was awarded the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player and Jude Bellingham with the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award respectively.

Then, on 1 June 2022, in line with the relaunching of the then-discontinued CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, which was last held in 1993, England, winners of UEFA Euro 2020, faced the 2021 Copa América winners Argentina. The match, held at Wembley Stadium, London, saw England defeat Argentina 3-1 in a rematch of their recent World Cup showdown with the latter initially gaining the lead at the 10th minute via a goal from captain Lionel Messi before a 74th-minute goal from Harry Kane leveled the score with both Phil Foden and Richard proceeding to score a goal each in the 78th and 82nd minutes respectively to seal the match in England's favour. Consequently, defending champions Argentina, who defeated Denmark 5-4 on penalties in the previous edition, failed to defend their title which, in turn, went to the UEFA representative for the second time in its third edition after France defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the inaugural edition. In the meantime, despite a somewhat complimentary performance for England in the 2022-23 season of the UEFA Nations League, which notably saw him score a memorable brace early on to a seal a 2-1 comeback win against Hungary, a tiebreaking hat-trick against Germany in a final 4-1 win, and a separate tiebreaking goal against Germany in the second fixture which they won 4-3, England ultimately failed to reach the finals of the tournament for a third consecutive time with Italy, albeit by just one point above England, instead qualifying for the knockout stages where they later lost 1-2 to Spain in the semi-finals and also 1-2 to Croatia in the third-place playoffs, with hosts Netherlands emerging as the ultimate victor against Spain in a 2-0 win in the finals.

On 16 June 2024, Richard participated in England's first match at the UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany, appearing as a substitute in a 1-0 win over Serbia. Then, during the ensuing match against Denmark, Richard entered again as a substitute for captain Harry Kane, whose 18th-minute goal was countered by a 34th-minute goal from Denmark's Morten Hjulmand, to break the 1-1 deadlock, which he successfully did in the 78th minute as the standout performer amidst considerable criticism towards his otherwise underperforming teammates. Following this, buoyed by his positive performance, Richard started the final group stage match against Slovenia where he went on to score a brace in the 51st minute to mark a 2-0 win, thereby guaranteeing him particular praise from pundits once more although this was later followed by an unconfirmed moment in the England changing rooms afterward where he allegedly berated and cursed out his teammates for their overall underperformance as BBC Sport subsequently reported that Richard was granted a two-day temporary leave from the national team for undisclosed reasons. Nonetheless, Richard subsequently returned to the squad and was included in the starting lineup against Slovakia in the round of 16, a match that notably marked his 50th appearance for England. In this, following an initial 25th-minute goal from Slovakia that looked set to end England's long unbeaten streak, Richard scored a dramatic hat-trick in the 80th minute to seal the victory and, in turn, book a quarter-finals fixture against Switzerland. In this, Richard scored a second consecutive hat-trick to similarly defeat their opponents 4-1, with fellow Arsenal star Bukayo Saka scoring the fourth goal, only to then score a third consecutive hat-trick in a dominant 5-1 win over the Netherlands and, in turn, set up a showdown against Spain in a rematch of their previous meeting in 2012 where Richard's half brother Sir William Carter scored a hat-trick in a dominant 4-2 win for England back then. In this, a roughly similar scoreline emerged as Richard scored twice to complement a goal from Chelsea's Cole Palmer, with his late 90th-minute goal notably being his 60th for England, to win the tournament 3-2, thereby confirming England as European champions once more for the fifth consecutive time. However, just a couple of days later, incumbent head coach Gareth Southgate announced his resignation as England manager, bringing to an end his eight-year-long time at the helm as he was subsequently replaced by Lee Carsley, currently the head coach of the U21s, in an interim basis. Meanwhile, amidst the introduction of a new UEFA Champions League format at the club level, bringing renewed fears of match congestion, just prior to the early season break, Richard, citing his "health" and "safety", announced that he would no longer play for England in the UEFA Nations League, having won it once already, but will continue to do so at the World Cup and the Euros for the foreseeable future.

Style of Play

Considered by many to be the successor to, and, in the eyes of some, an improvement on the former Arsenal attacking midfielder Mesut Özil, Richard is often considered as one of the most talented and versatile modern playmakers in football. To that end, in his role as both a playmaker and a goalscorer for Arsenal, Richard has received praise for his excellent vision, a quality that allows him to swiftly dictate attacks against the opposition, often at a moment's notice. In addition, amidst popular criticism towards his "predecessor" Mesut Özil for the latter's perceived lack of physicality and low defensive work rate, Richard, despite his primarily attacking instincts, is also known for his tendency to execute well-timed tackles high up the pitch, thereby providing his team with a defensive edge while ensuring that the ball is often retrieved immediately after it was lost to the opposition. Moreover. an excellent positioning sense also means that Richard is capable of intercepting passes from the opposition, thus breaking up attacks early on and, in turn, instigating immediate counterattacks. In this, current head coach Mikel Arteta once dubbed the royal a "tireless stallion", stating, "Whether he has the ball or not, he almost never stops moving and instead is always on the move looking for his teammates and spaces where he could exploit to set up an attack. Simply put, he is always working on the pitch for the entire ninety minutes and that is something we value highly, especially when modern football demands that each player do a lot more for their team rather than just simply doing what their roles usually tell them to do".

Unlike the majority of forwards in football, most of whom are usually played by managers in one particular position, in a testament to his versatility and wide set of skills, under head coach Mikel Arteta, Richard has been played at almost every position on the pitch except for the center-back and full-back positions, be it as a traditional striker, a winger, an attacking midfielder, a central midfielder, or a wide midfielder, a role that he has come to take somewhat frequently for Arsenal following the arrival of Kai Havertz, the club's new main striker, thereby resulting in Richard typically playing as a wide midfielder on the right behind Bukayo Saka, a change that did not appear to otherwise diminish his goalscoring prowess. In this, Arteta himself admitted to rotating Richard between positions on the pitch each time after a few matches in order to confuse opposition teams and prevent the latter from being fully understood by the opposition, thereby preventing them from coming up with effective counters against him. In recent years, despite having come to normally play as a wide midfielder on the right in a 4-3-3 formation, when in attack, Richard's goalscoring prowess meant that he often moved up front and swiftly drifted towards the more central areas of the pitch, thereby positioning himself in prime goalscoring opportunities in an ad hoc 4-2-3-1/4-2-2-2 formation, for which he often worked in tandem alongside another striker or, alternatively, one of the two wingers on either flank, particularly Bukayo Saka on the right, with whom he is known to enjoy an effective attacking partnership.

In addition to his goalscoring prowess and overall positioning, Richard is also known for his specialty in set pieces, particularly in free kicks where his penchant for fast and precise strikes allows the ball to easily bypass defenders while giving little time for goalkeepers to react. In this, Richard himself has cited England footballing legend David Beckham as his main inspiration behind his excellent free kicks, having occasionally trained under Beckham himself from time to time developing and perfecting his free kicks, thereby resulting in him currently being one of Arsenal's main free kick takers with a remarkable success rate of roughly 78%. Likewise, having never missed a penalty so far, Richard is also known to have applied the same concept towards his penalties, preferring to score them each time with relative ease and power. Moreover, Richard has also earned much praise for his teamwork, helpfulness, and easy-going nature, with fellow academy graduate Bukayo Saka, his usual attacking partner on the pitch, also having heaped much praise on his fellow teammate, stating, "Naturally, we just work so well with each other, especially during big games, and for someone who is used to scoring a lot of goals, he is obviously never shy to let someone else take the chance instead if it meant a better chance of a goal. In that case, you can always rely on him to be at the right place and time to make a goal happen no matter how difficult it may be". In this, the duo's powerful on-pitch partnership for Arsenal has drawn comparisons to the famous attacking pair of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry who, aside from also being a pairing between two players of opposite skin colours, otherwise proved to be an effective attacking duo for the club together, having collectively racked up a total of 261 league goals. By comparison, the pairing between Richard and Saka currently boasts a combined total of 189 league goals with Richard, much like Henry, providing the majority of the goals whereas Saka, like Bergkamp, played a mostly secondary but equally crucial role in the attacking partnership. In this, such allusions have also been affirmed by both Bergkamp and Henry themselves, with the latter once stating, "Aside from the skin colours, which is understandably one of the main reasons why this comparison even exists in the first place, I see in the two almost the same partnership that I had with Dennis back then, the mutual, unstated sense of understanding between them on what they, as individuals, should do at any given time to make their partnership work. When it's between them, they don't have to say all the necessary things out loud each time because, as mentioned earlier, both Richard and Saka knew what was expected of them each time and they both always worked hard to ensure that the system between them does not come undone".

Since the 2022-23 Premier League season, Richard has notably come to develop a highly charged and intense rivalry with Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, whom the English football club acquired from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. Considered by many to be among the best Premier League strikers in recent years, the strong rivalry between the two largely stems from the apparent differences in their respective playing styles, namely with Richard being a more dynamic and versatile forward able to play in multiple positions in contrast to Erling Haaland, a more traditional striker who, at times, has been criticised for his perceived lack of effectiveness outside of scoring goals. In addition, recent allegations surrounding Manchester City's alleged financial fair play violations, for which they were handed a total of 115 charges, have also contributed to the rivalry, particularly with Richard having openly criticised the club's financial businesses as well as being owned by a nation-state. In this, the rivalry between the two reached a particularly heated moment on 22 September 2024, namely during Arsenal's 5-1 away win at Manchester City's home ground where Richard, having constantly provoked the home supporters after scoring a hat-trick to complement goals from teammates Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhães, was confronted by Haaland shortly after the match ended, thereby leading to a near physical brawl between the two before both of their teammates subsequently defused the situation by separating the two rival stars from each other. Otherwise, when compared in terms of silverware, since his arrival at Manchester City, Haaland has yet to either win the Premier League, FA Cup, or the UEFA Champions League, whereas Richard, since his debut for Arsenal, has won the Premier League, William Carter Shield, and UEFA Champions League twice, and the FA Cup once. Meanwhile, on the international level, Richard, being a crucial member of the newest generation of English footballers and, in the eyes of many, the "heir apparent" to current England captain Harry Kane, has largely enjoyed the longstanding success first put into place by his half-brother almost two decades ago, having so far won the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Nations League once each and the UEFA European Championship twice so far. In contrast, Norway has only qualified for the FIFA World Cup thrice and the UEFA European Championship once, all of which came before Haaland's arrival. However, in recent years, a more English-centric rivalry has developed between Richard and fellow England star Cole Palmer, a former Manchester City academy graduate and attacking midfielder currently playing for Chelsea, with whom he enjoyed an explosive breakout debut season. Consequently, as both Richard and Palmer play for two major London clubs, namely Arsenal and Chelsea, and are both considered to be efficient playmakers and goalscorers for their teams, the two, being only three years apart in age, are thus often framed by media outlets as competing for the honour of England's "next greatest striker", a designation currently applied to England captain and Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane.

Following his maiden Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA World Cup successes, Richard officially became just one of eight footballers in history to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or, a distinction that he shares with the likes of Johan Cruyff, Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, as well as fellow England players Sir Bobby Charlton, Harry Kane, and Sir William Carter. As of current, only Richard, Kane, and Carter, all of whom are English, are the only ones still alive, with only Richard and Kane themselves being the only ones still currently active in the sport.

Personal Life

As the oldest younger sibling of the reigning Queen Alexandra, Richard was formerly first in line to the British throne, a position that he held until the birth of his niece Princess Anne in November 2023, thereby initially relegating him to second place and later to third place as his nephew Prince Christian was born on the same day. Officially, Richard was named after the famous English ruler King Richard I, better known as "Richard the Lionheart". Coincidentally, while not a direct descendant of his namesake, as a British royal, Richard is otherwise distantly related to his namesake as the descendant of King John, the younger brother of King Richard. Meanwhile, since July 2019, Richard has been in a relationship with fellow Arsenal player and England Women captain Leah Williamson. However, despite sharing a common football club along with being academy graduates, the two play drastically different roles for the men's and women's sides respectively, with Richard primarily being an attacking midfielder and Williamson a central defender. Among club supporters, the two are popularly nicknamed "Mr. and Mrs. Arsenal", a play on the title of the 2005 action film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and made their first public appearance together during the title celebrations at the end of the 2022-23 season where Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in two decades. Prior to his relationship with Williamson, Richard briefly dated the American model Kaia Gerber, daughter of the American supermodel Cindy Crawford, a close friend of his mother.

A polyglot, in addition to his native English, Richard is also known for his ability to speak both German and Spanish rather fluently, with the latter being particularly handy when communicating with his Spanish-born Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta as well as his Hispanic teammates Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Magalhães who, although born Brazilian and thus normally speak Portuguese, could otherwise easily understand Richard given the similarities between the two Romance languages. Aside from this, in line with his athletic lifestyle as a professional footballer, Richard once revealed that his favourite physical activities include morning and evening jogs, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, Richard added that, during downtime occasions, he likes to play video games, particularly with his brother-in-law and actor Henry Cavill, an avid gamer himself. In this, Richard's favourite video games include FIFA, Call of Duty, Tetris, and Minecraft.

A vocal figure on the issue of player welfare, Richard was among the many players who filed a lawsuit against FIFA via FIFPRO, the global organisation representing professional footballers, in response to the organisation's plans for a revamped FIFA Club World Cup tournament which is set to feature 32 teams as opposed to only eight teams since the tournament's foundation in 2000. In a statement published on his Instagram account, Richard said, "Regardless of how much each individual player is paid, they all ultimately play roughly the same amount of games which, at least throughout the last few years, have been increasing nonstop and with seemingly no end in sight. In the end, no matter how much money each of us has, we are all humans rather than robots and thus deserve every right to look after our own health from time to time". Following the start of the 2024-25 season of the UEFA Nations League, Richard announced that he would no longer play for England in the tournament, having previously won it once, citing prior concerns for his health and safety as an athlete.

Having said to have originally grown up supporting Manchester United, the English football club that his father supported and the one that his half-brother had played for, when asked in an interview with BBC Sport whether his career could have instead been at Manchester United rather than Arsenal, the London-based club where he is both its captain and all-time goalscorer, Richard admitted that he "could have well" ended up with The Red Devils instead, stating, "The primary reason as to why my father had me enrol at Arsenal rather than Manchester United was because of how he disliked the Glazer family's way of running things at the club, especially the fact that they disbanded the women's team out of the blue and left it non-existent for almost a decade before bringing it back. Meanwhile, Arsenal kept their women's team, hence why my sister ended up playing for them, and so my father decided to gamble his chances and have his son grow at Arsenal because by the way how the Glazers were doing it, he correctly thought that his son would not have a very bright future there and would instead be shoehorned into a team that is mostly a shell of its glorious past". Meanwhile, much like how his sister came to befriend current England Women captain and fellow academy graduate Leah Williamson, Richard, having established a similar close bond of his own with fellow compatriot and academy graduate Bukayo Saka, with the latter often being perceived as his "sidekick" in a lethal attacking duo, Richard otherwise spoke of having no regrets in how his career had turned out so far, stating, "Regardless of how I eventually ended up at Arsenal, I ultimately love it all here, the culture, history, friends, and successes that I have earned and made along the way and they are things that I'm not just going to simply throw it all away if Manchester United ever came knocking on my door one day and asked me to join them just because I briefly had feelings for the club. Ultimately, my home is at Arsenal and I'm planning to keep it that way until I retire".

Later, during a post-match press conference following Arsenal's second straight UEFA Champions League title, head coach Mikel Arteta joked that he has "a lot to thank the owners of Manchester United for", noting how the club's recent successes, namely back-to-back Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles, can be somewhat attributed to Richard's "extraordinary" talent along with other equally important factors responsible for the club's recent resurgence after a lengthy period of stagnation under former longtime manager Arsène Wenger. In this, Wenger himself later quipped, "Manchester City can be proud of what they have in Erling Haaland all they want but the fact is that they had to pay around sixty million to get him. However, unlike them, we didn't have to pay anything to get Richard to us but instead just simply promoted him to the senior squad when we felt that he was ready, all without a single cent spent". Similarly, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, former Manchester United manager, player, and a former teammate of Sir William Carter, described Richard as the club's "lost gem", stating, "If I could, I would absolutely love to have someone as dynamic and skilled as Richard play for Manchester United. Simply put, a player able to do as many things as he does is really hard to find and would be the ultimate luxury player for any good club".

Titles & Honours

5 August 1999 - Present His Royal Highness The Prince Richard

Honours

National & Commonwealth

United Kingdom - Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
United Kingdom - Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Charles III
United Kingdom - Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
United Kingdom - Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
United Kingdom - Member of the Order of St. George