Micah Richards British Footballer Born 1988 in Birmingham

Early life

Micah Richards was born on 24 June 1988 in Birmingham and grew up in Chapeltown, Leeds. He attended Loreto College and Wetherby High School. As a boy he was in the Leeds United youth system as a striker, then joined Oldham Athletic's youth ranks and moved to Manchester City at 14. He was later moved back into defence, and signed his first professional contract with City in 2005.

Career

Richards joined City's first team in October 2005 and made his debut on 22 October as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat at Arsenal. His first goal came in February 2006, a late header in an FA Cup tie at Aston Villa. In 2006–07 he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and he was nominated again a year later. In September 2007 he captained City against Aston Villa and became the youngest first-team captain in the club's history. In August 2007 he also won the Premier League Player of the Month award.

Across his decade at the club he played 245 times. He started the 2011 FA Cup final, a 1–0 win over Stoke City at Wembley, and was part of the squad that won the Premier League in 2011–12, a season in which he provided five assists, the most of any defender in the division. He made only a handful of appearances in 2013–14, when City won the league again, and left when his contract ended in June 2015.

In September 2014 he went on loan to Fiorentina for a season, making 10 league appearances and seven in European competition. In June 2015 he joined Aston Villa on a free transfer and was made club captain for the Premier League season; Villa were relegated that year. Knee problems limited him to 31 appearances in all for the club, and he played little after October 2016. Villa released him at the end of 2018–19, and on 26 July 2019 he announced his retirement as a player.

Richards won his first England under-21 cap in August 2006 and played at the 2009 European Under-21 Championship, where England finished as runners-up after a final defeat by Germany. He was called into the senior side in November 2006 for a friendly against the Netherlands, which made him England's youngest defender at the time. He scored his only senior goal in a European Championship qualifier against Israel in September 2007 and won 13 caps between 2006 and 2012. He was left out of the squad for UEFA Euro 2012 but was one of three over-age players named for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games, where the team went out to South Korea on penalties.

Public roles

Since retiring he has worked as a pundit for Sky Sports, BBC Sport and CBS Sports, including appearances on Match of the Day and in CBS's Champions League coverage. He is one of the hosts of the podcast The Rest Is Football. In November 2024 it was announced that he would manage a team in the Baller League UK, a six-a-side competition; he led the team Deportrio alongside Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.

Recognition

With Manchester City, Richards won the Premier League in 2011–12 and the FA Cup in 2010–11. He was runner-up at the 2009 European Under-21 Championship with England, and received the Young Sportsperson of the Year award in 2007.

Personal life

Richards is of Kittitian descent through his father, who moved from Basseterre to England in the 1960s. He has credited his father as a major influence on his career. He was involved with the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign during his playing career.