Micah Lincoln Richards (born 24 June 1988) is an English football pundit and former professional player who played as a right-back.
Richards began his senior career with Manchester City and made 245 appearances in ten seasons, winning a Premier League title and an FA Cup. After a season on loan at Fiorentina in Italy's Serie A, he joined Aston Villa in 2015. Richards played 31 times for Villa until October 2016, with several knee injuries restricting his appearances, before retiring in July 2019.
Richards made his full international debut in November 2006, the youngest defender to be selected by England. He won 13 caps for England between 2006 and 2012 and played for the Great Britain team in the 2012 Olympics.
Since his retirement, Richards has worked as a pundit for Sky Sports, BBC Sport and CBS Sports. He is one of the hosts of the podcast The Rest Is Football.
Although Richards was born in Birmingham, he grew up in Chapeltown, Leeds. Richards began playing football when he was young and played for the Leeds United youth system as a striker, but was released when he was around eight years old. He also represented Leeds Schools FA (Leeds City Boys) at a young age. Richards later moved to playing in either the centre-back or right-back positions.
He later played for the Oldham Athletic youth system, moving to Manchester City as a 14-year-old, with Oldham reputedly having a 20 per cent sell-on clause. In July 2006, Manchester City reportedly tried to buy out the clause but Oldham refused. He also attended the Brazilian Soccer Schools scheme and retains strong links with the programme, with his father Lincoln running a Brazilian Soccer School in Chapeltown.
Richards progressed through Manchester City's youth system. Despite initially struggling to get a YTS contract, he later signed his first professional contract with the club in 2005.
In the summer of 2005, Richards was called up by Manchester City's first team for the Premier League Asia Trophy. He was later promoted to the first team in early October 2005. Richards made his first-team debut on 22 October 2005 against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute for Danny Mills in the 85th minute of a 1–0 defeat at Highbury. After the match, he said it was the most memorable day of his life. It was not until 1 February 2006 that he made another appearance, again as a late replacement in a 3–0 win over Newcastle United. Eleven days later, he made his first start, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 win over Charlton Athletic. His first goal came on 19 February, heading in a last-minute corner to earn a 1–1 draw away to Aston Villa in the fifth round of the FA Cup. City manager Stuart Pearce praised his performance after the match. Richards swore on live national television when interviewed after the game, later reflecting that "I won the Premier League and played for England but it seems everyone always remembers me best for swearing live on BBC One on a Sunday afternoon". Following this game, he then received a handful of first-team appearances for the remaining matches of the 2005–06 season. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make sixteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In July 2006, Manchester City rejected a bid of £5 million for Richards from Tottenham Hotspur. On 25 July 2006, he signed a new four-year contract, quashing rumours of a move away from the City of Manchester Stadium. At the start of the 2006–07 season, Richards helped the side keep two clean sheets between 23 August 2006 and 26 August 2006. However, during a 1–0 loss against Reading on 11 September 2006, he was criticised by Pearce after reacting furiously when he was substituted in the 60th minute and threw his shirt to the ground and waved his arms in disgust. Despite this, Richards continued to remain in the first team for the side and was praised once again by Pearce for his professionalism. At one point during the 2006–07 season, he played in a central midfield position, due to limit availablity. Richards then scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Everton on 30 September 2006. He appeared in every match until he was dropped in December, due to a leg injury following a 2–1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 December 2006. But he made his return from injury, playing the full game in a 1–0 win over Sheffield United on 26 December 2006. In a follow–up match against West Ham United, Richards kept another clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. Over the next months, he competed with Hatem Trabelsi and Danny Mills over the right-back position. However, Richards suffered a calf injury and had to be substituted during a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough on 17 March 2007, resulting in him sidelined for the remaining matches of the season. Despite this, Richards was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2006–07 season. Although he lost out to Cristiano Ronaldo, he was nevertheless awarded the Young Player of the Season by the Official Supporters' Club. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Throughout 2007, Richards was linked with a move away from City, Stuart Pearce said "I am not actively looking to sell Micah because he has a great future here. Whatever offers come in for him, it is going to take a ridiculously big offer to get him out of this football club. I would love to see Micah stay here, captain the club, and maybe be here for 10 years and carry the club on his back if he can. He is good enough to do it. I have not worked with anyone so good and so young." He later responded to the transfer speculation that he reaffirmed his commitment to stay at Manchester City.
In the 2007–08 season, Richards continued to be in the first team, having recovered from a calf injury and played in the pre–season friendly matches. Richards started the season well when he helped Manchester City's defence to keep three clean sheets in the first three league matches, including against rivals, Manchester United. His performance was praised by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. As a result, he was named the Barclays player of the month award for August. Richards then captained the team for the first time on 16 September 2007 against Aston Villa in the absence of teammate Richard Dunne, making him City's youngest ever first-team captain, beating the 21-year-old Steve Redmond. After the match, he said it was the "proudest moment" of his career. Following a 6–0 loss against Chelsea on 27 October 2007, Richards acknowledged his mistakes for conceding "a couple of goals" on his columns. After missing one match due to an injury, he returned to the starting line-up against Portsmouth on 11 November 2007, and kept a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw. Since the start of the 2007–08 season, Richards regained his first-team place, playing in the right-back position. It was announced on 8 February 2008 that he signed an improved contract to last until June 2013. However, by the end of February, Richards suffered a knee injury that saw him sidelined for six weeks. Although he returned to training in early–April, Richards didn't play for the side for the rest of the 2007–08 season. During the season, he was involved in heated rows with the opposition teams, which resulted in him getting booked. Despite this, Richards was nominated for a second time for the PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2007–08 season. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he went on to make twenty–nine appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Richards played his first full match back from injury in the 2–0 win against EB/Streymur in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup on 17 July 2008. However, during a 3–0 win over West Ham United on 24 August 2008, he collided with team-mate Tal Ben Haim after a clash of heads, resulting in him being substituted and taken to hospital with a concussion. But he was released from the hospital after the result in a scan came back was all clear. Richards was able to return to the first team, starting the whole game and keeping a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win over Sunderland on 31 August 2008. He then captained Manchester City for the first time this season, helping the side progress to the UEFA Cup group stage after beating Omonia 2–1 on 2 October 2008. Richards continued to hold onto the right-back position despite competition from Nedum Onuoha and Pablo Zabaleta. However, his performance received criticism by fans throughout December. On 22 March 2009, he scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season with a header in a man of the match performance giving a 1–0 victory over Sunderland at the City of Manchester Stadium. However, both Richards and manager Mark Hughes played down training ground bust-up after the British newspapers claimed the pair had argued during the training sessions, insisting it was a minor situation. In the last game of the season against Bolton Wanderers, he set up Felipe Caicedo to score the only goal of the game. Despite being sidelined on two occasions later in the 2008–09 season, he went on to make fifty appearances and scoring once in all competitions. During the season, Richards spoke out about the new ownership with the club that it could take four years to reach their potentials.