Micah Richards has said he has no regrets about turning down an England call-up, despite never playing for his country again. The former Manchester City defender rejected Roy Hodgson's offer of a place on the stand-by list for Euro 2012, choosing instead to represent Team GB at the London Olympics.
A once-in-a-lifetime choice
Richards, now 38, acknowledged that the decision may have cost him his international career, yet insisted he would not change a thing, as it allowed him to fulfil a lifelong ambition. He said at the time: "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."
He added: "It was a decision I made, people will always think negatively about it. 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."
"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. I still want to play for my country, everyone does. But what can I do now?"
End of an international career
Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly travelled to Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine in his place, with the Three Lions crashing out at the quarter-final stage following a 4-2 penalty shootout loss to Italy. That summer also saw Richards endure another last-eight exit at the Olympics with Team GB, having featured in every match of the tournament before Pearce's squad suffered a shock defeat to South Korea on penalties (4-5).
Richards clung to a faint hope that a recall to the England setup remained achievable, but it failed to materialise. His 13th and final cap remained a friendly fixture in February 2012 against the Netherlands.
He explained: "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
Following his retirement from football in 2019, Richards has established himself as a well-known pundit on television and provided coverage of the Three Lions during their third-place finish at the World Cup 2026 this past summer. The former City and Aston Villa defender has proved a popular presence on the airwaves, though he disclosed in July that he has intentions to withdraw from broadcasting at some point down the line.
He told The Telegraph he intends to step away from mainstream media by the age of 46, with the 2034 World Cup marking his final assignment. He reaffirmed 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."
