Ex-Fulham star claims Sunderland-Newcastle United derby is 'worse' than Liverpool-Manchester United

The former Manchester United, Aston Villa, England man joined Sunderland under Roy Keane back when the Black Cats had just won promotion to the Championship in 2007.

Richardson went on to play for Sunderland for five years and netted an iconic free-kick at the Stadium of Light against derby rivals Newcastle United to hand the Wearsiders a memorable win.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five Podcast, Richardson stated that playing for Sunderland was the best period of his career before talking about scoring the winner against the Magpies and eventually departing the club for Fulham.

He said: “The best time of my career was there. I loved it - the changing room, the vibes, the fans, everything about that club. It was definitely my best time as a footballer at Sunderland.

"Fulham - I liked Fulham. The reason I went there was because when I was in Sunderland, my wife was having our first child. I didn’t really want to leave Sunderland; it was only because I was having a baby and wanted to make sure my new child was going to be around the grandparents so I moved back to London.

“But if I didn’t have my first child, I wouldn’t have moved to Fulham. I would’ve stayed at Sunderland because I love Sunderland, that was my club.”

Richardson continued: “For Sunderland fans, it was obviously me scoring in the Newcastle derby, it made me like a cult hero up there. Up there, that rivalry is different, it’s worse than Man United and Liverpool.

“I’d say after Celtic Rangers, Newcastle Sunderland is the biggest. I’ve seen Man United Liverpool it’s a massive rivalry, but for me that’s all they have.

“They live and breathe football up there, it’s crazy. If you lose to Newcastle you can’t even go out of your house for a month. They’re on your neck! But if you win, I had a few, it’s great, unbelievable.”