MICAH RICHARDS has revealed he faked interest from Real Madrid to pressure Manchester City into offering him more money.
The former defender had the world at his feet early on in his career and made his England debut after playing just 29 times for City.
His performances in his breakthrough campaign in 2006 sparked interest from several Premier League big hitters.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United were all linked with a move for Richards, making City keen to tie him down with a new contract.
But after the club failed to match his wage demands, Richards decided to make up a fake rumour that Real Madrid also wanted to sign him.
He recalled the story on The Rest is Football podcast, saying: “I was getting a new contract, had just made my debut for England, and all that.
“It was said that Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man Utd 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…”
Richards, 36, remained at City for nine more years before leaving for Aston Villa in 2015.
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He even took a pay cut to leave the Etihad and turned down £100,000-a-week as he did not want to play second fiddle to Pablo Zabaleta.
The 13-cap England star retired from playing in 2019 and has worked as a pundit ever since for the BBC, Sky Sports and CBS.
