Table of Biography
Early Life
On the 26th of August, Colin Kazim-Richards was born in Leytonstone, London, England. He will be 37 years old on his upcoming birthday and has a birth sign of Virgo. He holds dual nationality of England and Turkey. And, he belongs to mixed ethnicity as his father is of Afro-Caribbean descent while his mother is of English descent.
He was born to his father Rodney Richards and his mother Emine Richards. Moreover, he grew up with his brother whose name is Rodney Richards Jr. Colin was interested in football from an early age and played for local youth teams in London.
Moving forward to his academic career, he has not shared any information regarding his school, college, and qualifications. He might have received his formal education from a local high school in his hometown Leytonstone. Later, he might have dropped out of college to pursue a football career. However, as a young boy, he started his interest in football at an early age. Moreover, he began training and developing his football skills at a young age.
Early Career
From an early, he started his youth career. He started his youth career playing for the youth teams of various local clubs in London, including Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal. However, he was not offered a professional contract by any of these clubs.
Professional Career
Bury FC
Colin Kazim-Richards started his professional football career at Bury FC, a club in the lower leagues of English football. Moreover, he signed with Bury in 2003, at the age of 16, and made his professional debut for the club later that year.
Moreover, he quickly established himself as a promising young talent, impressed with his skill and work ethic on the pitch. He played a total of 20 games for Bury during the 2003-2004 season, scoring two goals.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Later, he joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan from Bury FC for the 2004-2005 season. He made an immediate impact at the club, scoring on his debut against Crewe Alexandra. He quickly became a fan favorite and was praised by both fans and teammates for his work ethic and attitude on the pitch.
For the team, he made 21 total appearances during his loan spell, scoring two goals. He helped the team avoid relegation from League One, and his performances caught the attention of several top clubs.
Sheffield United
He signed for Sheffield United in July 2006, after impressing at Bury FC and during a loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion. He was signed for a reported fee of £125,000. In total, he made 29 appearances for Sheffield United during the 2006-2007 season, scoring two goals. Although his time at the club was relatively brief, he helped them reach the semi-finals of the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Fenerbahçe
Later, he signed for Turkish club Fenerbahçe in July 2007, following a successful season playing for Sheffield United in England. He was signed for a reported fee of €4.2 million, making him the most expensive English player to ever sign for a Turkish club at the time.
In total, he made 88 appearances for Fenerbahçe during his three-year spell at the club, scoring 20 goals. He helped the team win the Turkish Super Lig in the 2010-2011 season, as well as the Turkish Cup in the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 seasons.
Toulouse (loan) and Galatasaray
He joined French Ligue 1 club Toulouse on loan from Fenerbahçe for the second half of the 2012-2013 season. In addition, he was brought in to help the team avoid relegation and made an immediate impact with his performances on the pitch.
He made a total of 16 appearances for Toulouse during his loan spell, scoring two goals. Although the team ultimately failed to avoid relegation, his performances helped establish him as a top player in French football.
Caption: Colin Kazim-Richards being ready to kick the ball (Source: Instagram)
Moreover, he signed Turkish club Galatasaray in January 2013, following a successful loan spell at Toulouse from Fenerbahçe. He was signed for a reported fee of €1.25 million. He made 105 total appearances for Galatasaray during his four-year spell at the club, scoring 27 goals.
Moreover, he helped the team win the Turkish Super Lig in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons, as well as the Turkish Cup in the 2013-2014 season. He also played a key role in the team’s run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2014-2015 season.
Blackburn Rovers (loan)
In August 2015, he joined Blackburn Rovers from Dutch club Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee. He was brought in to bolster Blackburn’s attacking options and provide a physical presence up front.
In total, he made 79 appearances for Blackburn Rovers, scoring 19 goals. His time at the club was not without controversy, however, as he was involved in several disciplinary incidents both on and off the pitch.
Besides this, he has also played for clubs such as Bursaspor, Feyenoord, Celtic, Coritiba, Corinthians, Lobos BUAP, and Derby County. He signed a one-year deal with Fatih Karagümrük S.K. on the 19th of July 2022.
International Career
Colin has represented the Turkey national team at international level. He made his debut for the team in March 2007 in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland. Moreover, he went on to earn a total of 37 caps for Turkey, scoring two goals.
He was a regular member of the team during his time with Galatasaray and was included in the squad for the 2016 UEFA European Championship.
Awards
Caption: Colin Kazim-Richards posing with trophy and medal (Source: Instagram)
Colin has not won any major individual awards during his career, but he has been recognized for his contributions to various teams. At the end of the 2006-2007 season, he was named the Young Player of the Year by Sheffield United.
During his time at Galatasaray, he was voted the club’s Player of the Month on several occasions by the fans. In addition, Colin has been included in various teams’ end-of-season Best XI and has won promotions with several teams throughout his career.
Net Worth 2024
As a professional football player, playing for various clubs, he has been able to earn a good sum of money in his career. As of 2022, his net worth is estimated at around $33 million while his salary and income are still unknown.
Relationship Status
Caption: Colin Kazim-Richards with his family (Source: Instagram)
Talking about his personal life, Colin Kazim-Richards married his wife Mariana Bigao on the 25th of November 2019. Professionally, his wife operates an online secondhand store, De Ma Maison Boutique, via the Instagram page. With the marriage, the couple has one son and two daughters whose names are still unknown at the moment.
Body Measurements
This footballer stands 6 feet 1 inch tall (1.88 m) and weighs around 68 kg. In addition, he has brown eyes with black hair color and his other body measurements are still yet to be revealed to him.
Social Media
On his Instagram page ‘@manlikecolinkazimrichards’ there are over 208k followers. Likewise, there are over 127.1k followers on his Twitter page ‘@ColinKazim’ and over 15k followers on his Facebook page.