Micah Richards reveals the huge mistake he made on BBC Match of the Day debut

Micah Richards has been a regular on Match of the Day in recent years but a mistake on his debut appearance had him "on edge".

The former Manchester City and England defender retired from football in 2019 due to persistent injuries and made a seamless transition into punditry ever since he earned Roy Keane's respect with the "burst onto the scene" debate.

Richards works regularly for BBC, Sky Sports and CBS and is well-liked for his larger than life personality and infectious laugh.

He appears full of confidence on screen but the ex Aston Villa man has spoken of how he found it daunting to come onto BBC's flagship football highlights show.

In fact, he was so nervous that he sat in the seat reserved for Gary Lineker and had to be told by the producer.

"Coming onto Match of the Day with you two to start with is daunting, seriously," Richards said on The Rest Is Football podcast.

"You lot are legends of the game, I’m not blowing smoke up your a***. I just remember the first time coming in, Gary’s always got his chair to the right. I was sitting there for a little while and the producer was like ‘that’s Gary’s seat’.

"Already I was on edge! I was thinking ‘I can't even sit in a seat for God’s sake!’ It was like coming into a changing room for the first time.”

Image: Getty

Richards has developed a brilliant rapport with host Lineker and regular pundit Alan Shearer but was still a little overawed by the whole set up.

He added: "You were both nice and welcoming but Match of the Day has a certain standard. You’ve got to be able to work on that programme. But it's still daunting for the people that go on there, you must understand that."

Lineker responded to that comment with a perfect put-down, which prompted huge laughter from the rest of the studio.

The England legend finished saying: “I totally understand that. But we’re going to take a break now, and in that break, you’re going to get out of my f***ing chair!"

Topics: Micah Richards, Manchester City, Premier League, Match Of The Day, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_