Micah Richards shared the pitch with a wide range of players during his time at Manchester City.
Emerging through the youth academy, the former right-back made 246 senior appearances for City in total.
Having played with some of the best names to feature for the Manchester club towards the end of his tenure at the Etihad Stadium, the pundit has now shared his thoughts on one of the standout figures he had as a teammate who will undoubtedly be familiar to a lot of City supporters to this day.
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Micah Richards on how Mario Balotelli never became the player he should have been
On the subject of how important it is for top players to have the right mindset as well as talent, Richards said this about Mario Balotelli in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football.
He said: “I think [Mario] Balotelli is another case of, he was such a good player, tactically, technically.
“He was so gifted, he could shoot the ball, he knew where to get in little pockets to get his shot off. Brilliant.
“But he was on a lot of money, young, and a manager who sometimes let him get away with stuff that he shouldn’t have. And in the end, it just didn’t work for him.
“He went to AC Milan, scored loads of goals, he thought his career was back on track. But then, if you’re not willing to put in, I’m not saying just the work, because footballers always work, but if you’re not willing to do extra, because people are always putting in extra work, and the extra work, the extra one or two per cent, sometimes can be different.”
Balotelli was a very memorable player for City
During his time at City between August 2010 and January 2013, the striker, who heaped praise on Erling Haaland last year, scored 30 goals in 80 appearances across all competitions before being sold to AC Milan as Richards mentioned.
Despite that, the Italian is mostly remembered for his antics away from the field rather than his actual football, which showcases why Richards has mentioned him in this context about not being willing to back up his talent with hard work and focus.
