Micah Richards tells BBC he’s quitting as pundit details plans | Football | Sport

Former Manchester City star Micah Richards says he will no longer be working in punditry by the time he is 46. The 38-year-old has been a mainstay of Premier League and Champions League coverage for a number of years and is still just 38.

Instead, Richards plans to have a greater impact on the grassroots scene, and hopes to provide opportunities in areas where there are not enough available. With the clock ticking down, the World Cup pundit remains uncertain of exactly where his new path will take him. After hanging up his boots in 2019, Richards quickly found success as a broadcaster. His infectious laughter made him stand out from the crowd and he quickly struck up an entertaining relationship with Roy Keane on Sky Sports.

Now, he is a regular on BBC, Sky Sports and CBS coverage and, alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, is part of the Rest is Football podcast. But, despite his extreme success, the ex-defender has no plans to continue working in the same capacity for the long haul.

“I’ll be out of all this by the time I turn 46,” he told The Telegraph. “You won’t see me on any mainstream media beyond the 2034 World Cup.

“That will be the last time I am on the BBC or Sky or CBS. I’ve told them all this and they think I’m joking. I’m not.”

“I’ve given so much of my life to football since leaving school at 14, but when the time comes, I want to make a difference to people’s lives at a grassroots level – to help those who need it most, especially young people,” he said.

“I come from Chapeltown in Leeds. It’s an area where there is so much talent, but a shortage of opportunity. I want to give something back. That’s my aim. I’ve no idea what form that will take, yet. There’s plenty of time to work that out.

“You see a lot of ex-footballers putting their names to foundation, which is great, but I want to do something more than giving money to charity or showing my face at an event once a year. Hopefully I can keep doing what I am doing for the next seven years – and just make sure I don’t get cancelled before then!”

Richards has previously joked that his extensive repertoire of punditry work is because one key decision during his career as a footballer. The City academy product decided to turn down an offer to remain at the Etihad to go and find more playing time with Aston Villa before his career ended, ravaged by injury.

“At 17 years old, I earned £5k-a-week. Manchester City offered me £100k-a-week for five years. I said no because I was number two to [Pablo] Zabaleta,” he said.

“It’s the worst decision I’ve ever made. Why do you think I work for every broadcaster? I went to Aston Villa, that was less money.”