Micah Richards has been forced to watch his beloved Manchester City crumble all season. This has been a campaign of false dawns for City, who dropped out of the Premier League title race early, and have been struggling to stay in the race for Champions League football ever since.
Richards, though, who is an ambassador for the club and still has close ties with the dressing room, sees this chaotic campaign as nothing more than an aberration.
“I think next season, with a transfer window, we’ll see them getting back to somewhere we’ve seen over the last couple of seasons. They’ve still got a top manager,” he tells GOAL.
It will take some work, though. City are old. Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan are all past their best. Rodri’s season-ending ACL tear certainly hasn’t helped. A new era may have to begin.
“But do I think they’ll be challenging for the league next season?” Richards says. “100 percent. I really do. I don’t think it’s a massive fix. I just think we need some fresh faces going to the dressing room, couple of key players back fit.”
Richards is more than just a City fan. He covers soccer for CBS Sports. His face is seen with every Champions League phase as part of the always-entertaining pre and post match content on Paramount+.
His chemistry with Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Kate Scott has led to a litany of viral moments – some of which might pop up again as the quartet go pitchside for the EFL Cup Final on Sunday, with Newcastle United and Liverpool set to face off at London’s Wembley Stadium (kickoff is 12:30 pm ET, streamed on Paramount+).
Richards knows how to have fun, but his analysis remains strong, and in a European season defined by its unpredictability, he insists that Real Madrid are going to win this thing. And that could be a problem as – yes – Madrid star Jude Bellingham still owes him a celebration.
Richards spoke on Man City’s struggles, the appeal of the EFL Cup, and why Real Madrid are still his Champions League favorites in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.