Yahoo News Micah Richards landed new Man City contract by spreading fake Real Madrid transfer rumour
Micah Richards claims he spread a fake rumour about Real Madrid being interested in him to secure a better deal at Manchester City.
The former defender, 36, racked up close to 250 appearances for the Citizens between 2005 and 2015, having joined the club as a teenager. After breaking through, Richards emerged as one of Europe's most exciting young defenders, and when contract negotiating time came, some of the biggest clubs in Europe were sniffing around.
During these crunch talks, when both sides were quibbling over relatively small sums, Richards - who had recently broken into the England team - took matters into his own hands. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, he explained how he got his agent to create speculation that Madrid were after him in order to prompt City to offer him a better deal.
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"I was getting a new contract, had just made my debut for England, and all that," Richards told colleagues Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. "It was said that Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United 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 losing his place in the first team to Pablo Zabaleta, Richards was offered another bumper contract. However, he ended up rejecting it because he didn't want to be second choice – something he later admitted he regrets.
"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," Richards explained.
"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."
In 2015, Richards took a pay cut when he left City to join Aston Villa after a loan stint with Fiorentina. However, he played just 31 times for the Villains in four years before retiring following a succession of injuries.
"I went to Aston Villa, that was less money. But then we got relegated in the first season, so my wages halved," he said. "So, I have gone from a £100k-a-week offer to £25k-a-week in the Championship!"
Since hanging up his boots, Richards has forged a career in punditry and works for the likes of the BBC, Sky Sports and CBS Sports.
