Micah Richards has said he does not regret the decision to turn down former England manager Roy Hodgson, even though it effectively ended his international career. In 2012, the ex-Manchester City defender rejected a stand-by slot for Euro 2012 in favour of playing for Team GB at the London Olympics.
Richards, now 38, accepts the bold move likely closed the door on his England future, but he has insisted that fulfilling a personal dream made it worthwhile. Speaking at the time, he said: "It was one of those. Do I go on standby or play in the Olympics? I wanted to go and play under [Stuart] Pearce as I knew him from here at City. It was a decision I made, people will always think negatively about it."
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
Richards explained his reasoning, pointing to his recent successes with Manchester City. "But, from my point of view, we'd won the league that year and the FA Cup the season before. Kyle Walker got injured and I was still being asked to go only on standby," he said. "Was I wrong for making the decision? Maybe. But I wanted to play in the Olympics. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I enjoyed it. It was one of the best times of my life."
He acknowledged the difficulty of regaining his place: "I still want to play for my country, everyone does. But what can I do now? Of course, there's still a lot of time. But time waits for no-one. We've got young players coming through now like Kyle and Nathaniel Clyne. So, yeah, time is still on my side. But sometimes with England, if you don't get in when you're young and stay in, they look to go younger."
International Career Ends in 2012
Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly travelled to Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine in Richards' place, with England bowing out in the quarter-finals after a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to Italy. Later that summer, Richards also suffered a last-eight exit at the Olympics with Team GB, having featured in every match before Stuart Pearce's side were knocked out by South Korea on penalties (4-5).
Richards held onto a faint hope of an England recall, but it never materialised. His 13th and final cap came in a friendly against the Netherlands in February 2012. He reflected: "All I can do is play well. People ask me the question about getting back in the England squad and I think, 'I won the FA Cup and then the Premier League in 12 months and I still didn't get in.' So what can I do? I couldn't do any more than that."
Life After Football
Since retiring in 2019, Richards has become a prominent television pundit, covering England during their third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup this past summer. The former City and Aston Villa defender has proved popular on screen, though he revealed in July that he plans to step back from broadcasting.
He told The Telegraph that he intends to leave mainstream media by the age of 46 and has no intention of working beyond the 2034 World Cup. He reiterated his position when speaking to The Times last week, confirming: "By then I'll have been 15 years a player and 15 years a pundit and what more could I ask for? So it'll be, 'What can I give back to the game?' I don't want to work past my sell-by date. Fifteen years, whether you like me or hate me, that's enough time to get across my point. There'll be someone else on the sofa by then."
