Micah Richards has revealed that Manchester United legend Andy Cole gave him advice that changed his life while he was a youngster at Manchester City.
Richards broke into the City first team in 2005 as a 17-year-old and went on to make 245 first-team appearances for the club. His formative years coincided with Cole's one-year spell at City after the striker joined from Fulham ahead of the 2005/06 campaign.
By that point Cole was 33 and past his best, having already cemented his status as a Premier League legend with successful spells at Newcastle and United. But as Richards has explained in his new book 'The Game: Player. Pundit. Fan' , Cole played a crucial role in Richards maturing and staying clear of the slippery slope many young stars find themselves on upon turning professional.
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"One day, when I was still spending money like it was about to run out, I came into training with an all-diamond watch. It had cost me a fortune and I was keen to show it off,” explained Richards in a section of his new book publicised by the Mail.
"Andrew Cole was unimpressed. He asked: ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I was offended. I started to argue with him, to tell him not to criticise, but he didn’t rise to it. He just asked me where my parents were living.
"They were still in their old house in Chapeltown, I said. ‘And how much would that house cost?’ he asked. I didn’t know, but I was pretty sure a watch made entirely from diamonds would make a decent deposit. ‘And yet you’re buying this,’ he said, pointing at the watch."
Richards - now a pundit with Sky Sports and a City ambassador - revealed the advice Cole gave him that changed his mindset as a young and naive footballer.
"If you’ve done what you need to do, buy whatever you want," he said. "But don’t buy all this stuff first when you don’t have all the other stuff lined up. Don’t fall into that trap.
"I don’t think I ever told him, but that speech changed my life. It was a kick up the a***. I don’t know why he singled me out for help.
"Maybe he saw me as a younger version of himself: a young black kid who was going to have to work out what to do with all of the money coming his way. It was a little bit of harsh reality that I needed. I made sure, from that point on, that my future and my family’s future was secure — and I bought my parents a house."
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