Micah Richards: ‘Roy’s an absolute diamond. At first he seems standoffish but he’s the sweetest, humblest person you’ll ever meet’

Former Man City starlet turned pundit on rising above racism, injury heartache and both his and Roy Keane's true passion for the game

SERIOUS FUN: Micah Richards lost perspective 'going from £500 to 50 grand a week in 18 months'

SOON after Micah Richards bursts into the room, with booming laughter, the former England footballer shows a different side to his character. His sadness after his soaring career faded and then ended, when he was just 31, is accompanied by acceptance. “I can hardly walk now because of my knee but I wouldn’t change it,” Richards says of the injury that ruined his life as a footballer. It began with giddy promise when he made his international debut as England’s youngest-ever defender at 18 but, as Richards insists now, “I would sacrifice everything for football. I know that sounds ridiculous, and I should have a knee replacement, but I wouldn’t change a thing. That shows my devotion to football.” 

Richards, who is 34, smiles and spreads his hands as if embracing his second life as a successful pundit. “Everyone knows that without football I wouldn’t be anything,” he says.