As for the reception back home? “I think it just showed Americans how big and epic the FA Cup is!” he laughs.
“With me and Matt [Turner] being the third and fourth Americans to win it, it wrote our names in the history books for the USA, too.
“My Mom and Dad were at Wembley that day, and the FA Cup was something that was on TV a lot for us growing up – but it was the first time they truly got to embrace the competition. They got to experience Wembley with almost 100,000 people in there.
"They said afterwards it was their favourite game of mine they’ve ever been to.”
After a well-earned celebration – or several – Richards could have been forgiven for looking forward to unwinding over the summer, having taken part in the Nations League finals two years ago, and then represented the Stars and Stripes at the Copa América last year. But it was never on for Richards.
“It’s been kind of like a whirlwind, the last three months,” he laughs.
With the time off he did have over the summer, the defender spent a week in Mykonos, Greece; spent some quality time with family and friends; and even dabbled in punditry at the Club World Cup – “a little side quest,” he quips, before admitting “it was very hard – and very hot outside!”