FORMER footballer Micah Richards has swapped the stadium for a media career.
After playing for Aston Villa and Manchester City now he works as a pundit.
Who is Micah Richards?
Richards was born in Birmingham on June 24, 1988, but grew up in the suburb of Chapeltown in Leeds.
His love for the game started as a young boy when he played as a striker for his local club, Leeds United.
Just aged 14, Richards joined Manchester City and got the opportunity to attend the Brazilian Soccer school scheme.
He retained connections with the school and his father even established a Brazilian soccer school in Chapeltown.
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Richards progressed through the ranks at the Manchester City Youth Team, despite struggling to get a Young Training Scheme contract.
He spent one season playing for the youth side at Oldham, before returning to City and signing his first professional contract in 2005.
Just a few years after that, cartilage damage saw Richards miss eight games in 2007/08 before he missed a further ten matches the following season.
Fortunately Richards was playing when City won the 2011 FA Cup and then the 2012 Premier League title.
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The right back was also part of the team that won the 2014 Premier league title.
He spent a year on loan playing for Serie A side Fiorentina during the 2014/2015 season before joining Aston Villa in 2015.
Richards earned 13 senior England caps after playing for the U16, U19 and U21.
He was also part of the Great Britain Olympic side in 2012, playing five times.
In October 2022, he released his book, My Game, and he has his own prank show on Sky Max.
When did Micah Richards retire from football?
Richards stayed with Birmingham-based club Villa from 2015 until 2019 making just 26 appearances.
His career was hampered by a series of injuries, having reported thigh problems in 2013/2014 and a hamstring injury in December 2013.
Before officially retiring, Richards was in a lot of pain with a knee injury.
In an interview he said that the team doctors were “taking 100 ml of fluid out of my knee twice a week”.
Aston Villa was the last team he played for, making his final appearance in October 2016 aged 28.
He officially retired in July 2019.
How long has Micah Richards been a pundit for?
After having to sadly retire from football in 2019, Richards, aged 31, found great enjoyment being a sport media personality.
Working with Sky Sports and BBC Sports as a football pundit, in a interview he even said that this had “saved him” – and he’s become known for constantly laughing.
He revealed that after his early retirement due to ill health, he struggled with depression.
Richards told National News in 2021: “There were times when I felt a bit worthless and I struggled.
“I kept telling myself that I had no right to feel that way after what I had achieved, and what I had in terms of material things.
“There are millions of people worse off than me with much worse problems but mental health issues don’t recognise age, colour, creed or wealth.”
As well as punditry the former England ace took on an ambassadorial role with Manchester City.
Richards has also raised awareness about mental health issues with former Villa player, Chris Sutton.
The popular pundit landed a new role in July 2022, replacing Freddie Flintoff as team captain on A League Of Their Own.
Who is Micah Richards dating?
Richards is single and has one son.
In general he has kept his personal life private.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
