CHRIS HAS A DREAM

American legends ink-spire Wembley hopeful Richards

- by NEIL MCLEMAN

CHRIS RICHARDS has Martin Luther King's words "I have a dream" tattooed on his right arm alongside inked images of Kobe Bryant and Muhammad Ali.

And the USA defender, who was signed by Bayern Munich as a teenager, is now one win away from fulfilling his English dream of playing in the FA Cup at Wembley.

The eloquent Crystal Palace star hails from the Alabama city of Birmingham, which was at the epicentre of the American civil rights movement in the 1960s, and his impressive tattoos show his icons and "people who inspire me on and off the field".

But the King quote - his first tattoo done in Munich in 2019 - has special meaning for him.

"To be able to have dreams, to shoot for the stars, I think keeps people going and it's what gives people hope," he said.