MICAH RICHARDS has revealed a club asked him to become the ‘frontman’ for them – a role that included picking players and appointing a manager.

The former Manchester City and England defender, 36, moved immediately into punditry after retiring from football in 2019.

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He has worked for a host of broadcasters including BBC, Sky Sports and CBS Sports – while he is also a Man City ambassador.

Over the course of two decades Richards has also developed an extensive portfolio of properties.

He owns places in Leeds, Harrogate and Manchester – a venture he has previously stated has been “really good for me”.

Now he has opened up about an opportunity that was presented to him to become the face of an unnamed football club.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football, he said: “I won’t mention the club but a club got in contact with me to basically be the frontman for their club. Big investors.

“They wanted me to be the guy who would bring everyone together, pick a coach, pick the players that I wanted.

“But what they wanted from it was too much, it was too far from my house. It was never going to work.”

Alan Shearer jokingly responded: “What the f*** did they see in you that they thought you could run a football club?”

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To which Richards replied: “They needed someone with charisma. Someone who is knowledgeable about the game. Someone that has got contacts.”

Before Gary Lineker sarcastically added: “This was obviously Manchester City but in the end you just opted for an ambassadorial role.”

Richards has admitted in the past that his work ethic is fuelled by regretfully rejecting a lucrative Man City contract.

Speaking last year, he said: “You had to have so much English players for the quota.

“So Man City offered by £100,000-a-week, five-and-a-half year deal. And I said no.”

He then went on to add: “Why do you think I work for every f***ing broadcaster?”

Sauber has signed Gabriel Bortoleto to partner Nico Hulkenberg in the 2025 Formula 1 season, the veteran and rookie effectively teaming up in the future Audi squad.

Bortoleto had been courted by the Hinwil-based outfit for some time, with his ties to McLaren as an academy member the main obstacle to a deal.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella however made clear that he wouldn’t stand in his protege’s way if there were a chance for him to clinch a race drive.

Sauber therefore made the move for the 20-year-old Brazilian, having announced earlier on Wednesday that incumbents Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were set to leave the team. 

“This is one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not in all of sports,” Bortoleto said. “Joining a team that combines the rich motorsport history of Sauber and Audi is a true honour.

“Beyond simply being a member, I aim to grow with this ambitious project and reach the pinnacle of motorsport. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me by the team and for the chance to work alongside an experienced driver like Nico.

“Both programs have a proven track record of nurturing young talent, and I am confident that together, we will write our own success story.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro

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Bortoleto has impressed in the last two years, winning the FIA F3 championship as a rookie in 2023. The Invicta Racing driver is now leading the Formula 2 standings with only two wins to his name but his top-six consistency proving crucial.

“Gabriel has already demonstrated in the junior categories that he has what it takes to be a winning driver,” Mattia Binotto, COO and CTO of Sauber Motorsport, pointed out. “We are very pleased that he will become a team member of Sauber and Audi.

“Together with Gabriel, we are on a journey towards success, and we will evolve into a unified force to shape a new era for Audi in motorsport. Nico and Gabriel represent the ideal combination of experience and youth, positioning us strongly for the future.”

Chairman of the Sauber Motorsport board Gernot Doellner added: “Led by Mattia, Audi’s Formula 1 project is making great progress in many areas. The signing of the second driver is another milestone.

“We are currently witnessing a generational shift in Formula One, with young drivers immediately making an impact. By signing Gabriel Bortoleto, we have secured one of these top talents. His signing underscores Audi’s long-term strategy and commitment to Formula 1.”

Sauber is currently going through its first point-less Formula 1 season since 2014, with the team’s best result being Zhou’s 11th-place finish in the Bahrain season opener.

Firstly, let’s deal with the reality of where Amorim finds himself now.

He was joking before the game when he said a Sporting victory over City would make United feel another Sir Alex Ferguson was arriving.

There was a huge amount of added interest in the game in Manchester. Those of a United persuasion, fans and club officials alike, were delighted with what they saw. To some, it made a mockery of City’s private insistence that Amorim was not a name on their wish list for when Pep Guardiola eventually leaves.

But nobody, Amorim said, should read too much into events at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.

“I already said previously you cannot transport one reality into another,” he said. “At Manchester United you cannot play exactly like this. You cannot play so defensively and so there we will have to adapt. Clearly it is really difficult to beat this team and to beat Pep Guardiola. And he is not a worse manager than me.

“It will be a completely different world, a different team, we won’t have that much time to train and we will begin from a different starting point. People can make their own judgements but I say to the people of Manchester that this was a one-off.”

Amorim’s observations about his defence are worth further examination.

The most obvious difference being widely analysed is that Amorim plays three central defenders.

Against City, that turned into a back five for long stretches of the game.

Yet that is one of the attractions. Inside United they believe labelling Amorim as someone who plays with three central defenders is too simplistic.

How that shows itself can change, it is argued. This could be through inverted full-backs, more orthodox wing-backs – which is what Geovany Quenda and goalscorer Maximiliano Araujo tried to be when they weren’t being pushed back – or central defenders stepping forward into midfield areas.

In front of them are two sitting midfielders, beyond that two narrow forwards and, up top, the excellent Viktor Gyokeres.

If Amorim sticks to the formation, does he have the personnel to make it effective?

If not, will he have to compromise to the extent Erik ten Hag did, where his eventual team bore no relation to the style he was supposed to be bringing with him from Ajax.

A filmmaker from London is bridging the gap between cinema and boxing. Award-winning film director and producer Anthony Vander launches SPAR

Vander, an accomplished director and producer whose debut feature Sweetboy premiered at the American Black Film Festival back in 2014, co-produced the pilot episode of Spar, following the short film version in 2020.

Spar stars Nicola Roffe (Fast Girls) alongside Edwin De La Renta (Pretty Red Dress, Bharat), Andre Fyffe (Casualty), and 2023 BAFTA nominee Jordan Pitt. The episode is written by Vander and Kate Napoli, and is produced by actor Mavin Rasheed (Professor T, The Power).

Vander cited director Rapman as one of his inspirations whilst creating Spar.