Report: Chris Richards completes move to Bayern Munich

After a 6-month loan stint, Chris Richards is making it official. According to Major League Soccer’s Sam Stejskal, Chris Richards has finalized a transfer from FC Dallas to Bayern Munich, with Dallas receiving a seven-figure transfer fee with a sell-on clause, possibly around $1.25 million. Charles Boehm is further reporting that Richards was offered a 3-year deal value at $1.5 million guaranteed.

The 18-year-old, 6’2” centerback joined Bayern on loan back in July, after first spending time with the club as part of a player development partnership between FC Dallas and Bayern. He was signed as a Homegrown Player by FC Dallas, though had not been added to the roster due to not having completed the minimum academy residency required to be named to the senior roster. After securing the Bayern loan, he appeared for the defending Bundesliga champions during their friendlies in the International Champions Cup. When the season started, he was placed with the Bayern Munich U-19s and very quickly found himself in the starting lineup. He made 12 starts and 1 substitute appearance in the Junioren Bundesliga Süd/Südwest, scoring once against the Freiburg U-19s and adding an assist against the Karlsruhe U-19s. He started in all 6 of his appearance for the Bayern U-19s in the UEFA Youth League, and he made 2 starts in DFB-Junioren-Pokal play, scoring once against the Hoffenheim U-19s.

Richards internationally has played with the United States U-20s, most recently in the final two matches of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which the United States won. Making the permanent move to Bayern, Richards will likely remain with the U-19s until he’s ready to compete for time on the senior team. He joins a long list of young Americans who are making the move to big clubs in Germany to advance their playing careers.