Micah Richards reveals he spread fake Real Madrid transfer rumour to land new Manchester City contract
Popular pundit Micah Richards caught the eyes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United whilst breaking through at Manchester City, and once started a transfer rumour to secure a new booster deal
Micah Richards has confessed that he started a false transfer rumour about interest from Real Madrid to seal a new Manchester City deal.
The defender-turned-pundit made almost 250 appearances for Citizens during his 10-year stint in the first team, having moved to the club as a 14-year-old. He developed into one of the most promising young full-backs in Europe after making his debut at 17 and, come contract negotiation time in the early 2000s, had attracted a range of suitors.
However, when push came to shove, and both parties were just thousands apart in terms of a new deal, the young Richards - who had recently broken into the England squad - took matters into his own hands.
The 36-year-old revealed to punditry co-stars Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer that he enlisted the help of his agent to spread a rumour that Los Blancos held an interest in him - and it actually paid off.
"I was getting a new contract, had just made my debut for England, and all that," Richards stated on The Rest Is Football podcast. “It was said that Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man Utd were all involved.
"We were about five grand-a-week away [during negotiations], so I said to my agent, ‘Just do a little rumour, that Real Madrid want me too.’
"It was reported on: ‘Real Madrid want Micah Richards’ and whatnot. I’m not joking, two days later I signed a deal with Man City. I’m not saying it worked, but…”
Later in his career, after Pablo Zabaleta had ousted him from first-team contention, Richards recalled another contract debacle when he regrettably rejected a huge offer from City to stay at the club.
He told BBC Sport: "Stuart Pearce was the manager at the time. I was on 5k a week. He did try to do me one of these times. I was worth it, he offered me double the money, so 10k a week.
"But, I was just getting into the England squad. I ended up on 50k a week and he tried to do me out of 40k a week. The story goes on. You had to have so much English players for the quota. So, Man City offered me 100k a week on a five-and-a-half-year deal. And I said no because I was number two behind Pablo Zabaleta. I'm not all about the money."
Richards continued, revealing that he did take a wage cut when moving back to the Premier League after a loan spell with Fiorentina, signing for Aston Villa - with whom he retired in 2019 after being released.
"I went to Aston Villa, that was less money. But then we got relegated in the first season, so my wages halved. So, I have gone from a 100k a week offer to £25k a week in the Championship!" Richards' time is now spent doing an array of punditry work for Sky Sports BBC and CBS.
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