Micah Richards’ Net Worth
He’s England’s youngest ever defender, a Premier League winner, represented Team GB at London 2012 and now is one of the most loved pundits on television but what is Micah Richards’ net worth? Here we answer that very question and more.
What is Micah Richards’ net worth?
As of 2022, Micah Richards’ net worth stands at £5m. With a football career that saw him play in two of Europe’s top five leagues it perhaps doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out where most of his wealth comes from. Is he simply riding the wave of his football career? Or is there more to him? Let’s find out.
The early years
Richards was born in Birmingham but raised in Leeds by his parents, Lincoln and Heather. They had moved to the UK from St Kitts. They’re two people he cites as big influences on his career. It’s easy to see why they were able to keep Richards’ feet firmly on the ground too. Even now, despite his son having a £5m net worth, his father still lives in the same family home in Chapeltown; that’s an area of Leeds known to suffer with high crime rates.
A family connection, former Bradford City man Ces Podd, helped an 8-year-old Richards, who supported Arsenal owing to his affection for Ian Wright, join the Leeds academy. By the age of 11 he had moved from Leeds City Boys to Oldham; he stayed there for two years. Then came another move for the youngster; one of his coaches moved to Manchester City and approached Richards to join him. That change meant his dad had to play taxi service with 90 mile round trips; it would all prove to be worth it.
England youth caps started to flood in; the under 16 caps came first, then under 18 before the under 21s came calling. Senior football for club and country was right around the corner.
Stepping up to senior football
In 2005 Richards penned his first pro contract with Man City. He almost instantly joined the senior squad on their pre-season tour. Later that year, in October, he made his debut as a late substitute in an away match against Arsenal – the team he’d supported as a boy. Richards’ breakthrough ultimately spelt the end of Danny Mills‘ City career ending. His performances were catching the eye and he was highly sought after. Rumours swirled. They were put to bed when, in July 2006, Richards penned a new deal worth a reported £50k per week.
Just five months later, Richards would receive his senior England call up. Courtesy of an injury to first choice right back, Gary Neville, the City full back would go on to win his first cap too. It came against the Netherlands and, as Richards puts it himself, becoming England’s youngest ever defender capped off his ‘bursting onto the scene’; he was 18 years, four months and 22 days old. Come the end of that campaign – and the next one for that matter – the youngster was nominated for the Young Player of the Year award although he never won it.
By 2008, City had begun their ascent to the top with a helping hand from the huge sums of money being pumped in by the new owner, Sheikh Mansour. The funds meant new players – like Robinho who arrived for £32.5m – and a challenge to keep your place; Richards rose to the challenge. In 2011 he had his first taste of silverware; City won the FA Cup with Richards playing the full 90 minutes in the final in addition to four further appearances (and two goals) earlier in the competition. A year later he lifted the Premier League trophy after that ‘Aguerooo’ moment; it would net him a performance related bonus of around £260k.
Leaving City
Richards was still getting plenty of minutes in Manchester but the influx of new talent and a string of niggling injuries had started to reduce his time on the grass. Eventually, he had to move on. He opted for a move to Serie A where he joined Fiorentina on loan; the £3.5m deal didn’t really work out. Again, minor injuries hampered Richards in his fight to nail down a starting berth. Needless to say, when the loan had ran its course, Richards opted not to extend his stay with La Viola.
The next step in his career was back in England; Aston Villa snapped him up on a free with his weekly wages in the region of £35k. The 2015/16 season saw Richards make a total of 28 appearances for Villa and he wore the armband in all bar one of them too – Gabby Agbonlahor was joint skipper. He couldn’t prevent their relegation though. For the first time ever Aston Villa were due to compete outside of the Premier League; it would be Richards’ own first taste away from the top tier as well. He didn’t taste much of it though; he spent a further two seasons in the West Midlands but only managed to make a further three appearances. Eventually retired at the age of 31 citing persistent fitness issues.
Although being one of Villa’s top earners and contributing little on the pitch, the one thing you can safely say is that Richards wasn’t about chasing the money. After their relegation he was offered the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of mega-rich David Beckham and jump ship to the MLS. He would have unquestionably received a substantial pay rise. Richards wanted to get Villa back to where the belonged though. It just didn’t work out that way.
Life after football
Since calling time on his playing career, Richards has gone on to establish himself as a much loved pundit. Although he often appears on BBC show Match of the Day, which is hosted by Gary Lineker, his most appreciated work comes on Sky Sports. Why? Well, he’s struck up an unlikely relationship with Manchester United legend Roy Keane, which regularly leaves viewers – and those in the studio – in stitches. Ahead of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament Richards and Keane took part in a mini series with Sky titled ‘Road to Wembley’ where the duo chatted all things football along with special guest passenger Gary Neville.
In addition to providing football insight, Richards has also used his position as a black role model to speak out on racial injustice and abuse. The Sky documentary ‘Tackling Racism’ was extremely well received. It shone a light on the challenges one can face even when they have the profile of being a professional footballer behind them.
There you have it, Micah Richards’ net worth – an impressive £5m. We suspect that might grow in the years to come.