Micah Richards has joined Aston Villa on a four-year contract joining on the 1st July after being released by Manchester City.
The Birmingham-born defender first broke into the City side in 2005, announcing his breakthrough in style by scoring in stoppage time against Villa in an FA Cup tie. He then proceeded to swear live on the FA Cup coverage on national television after the game when asked to describe how scoring in the last minute to level a cup tie felt.
Richards saw his opportunities at City decrease
The 26-year-old was a prominent figure in Manchester City’s 2011/2012 title winning season, being nominated for the Citizens' Player of the Year on the way. Despite this, he soon found it tough to dislodge Pablo Zabaleta as the first-choice right-back in the 2012/13 season.
Richards, 26, spent 10 years with the Citizens making 179 appearances. He also has 13 international caps under his belt.
Last season, the versatile defender spent the season out on loan at Serie A side Fiorentina, but chose not to stay permanently, making only a handful of appearances with chances being hampered by a change in style by the management. A move back to the Premier League was always on his mind though.
Tim Sherwood convinced Richards to move
Reports suggest that he will be earning around £65k a week at Villa park, £25k less than what was apparently tabled by Sunderland and West Ham. With the intervention of Tim Sherwood, Richards chose to join the Midlands side as Villa look to rebuild ahead of the 2015/16 and avoid the relegation battle that has for so long plagued them.
When talking to the Villans' official website, Tim Sherwood said: "I'm really pleased to get Micah on board and I'm sure he will prove to be an excellent signing for the football club."
Richards is a natural centre-back but got pushed out to right-back under Roberto Mancini at the Citizens, but the chance to play at centre-half is said to have been an important factor in his decision.
