Michah Richards reveals that ‘dirty’ strategies were used to help Man City lure Joleon Lescott away from Everton
Micah Richards has admitted that his “dirty work” enabled Joleon Lescott to move from Everton to Manchester City in a deal that almost catastrophically backfired.
Lescott forced his way to the Etihad Stadium in 2009, capping off a superb three-season career with Everton in which he made 143 appearances.
The deal did not go over well with Toffees fans, not least since City were far from a superpower at the time, but it might not have happened if it hadn’t been for Richards.
“We used to room all the time and we used to talk about absolutely everything,” Richards remarked on The Rest Is Football podcast [8 September, 11m 10s].
“Then we were talking about football and whether or not he was happy at Everton, and he said, ‘I’d love to come to Man City.'” So I’m thinking ‘buzzing’. We might be able to obtain Joleon. How much would he set you back? That sort of thing.
“We returned to our clubs after the international break.” I summoned [City Manager] Mark Hughes, and Eddie Niedzwiecki, a coach and his right-hand man, also present.
“I told him, ‘Joleon wants to come, if you’re interested,’ and he agreed.” He just nodded and said, ‘yes, we’re looking at that one’.
“A week later, I received a phone call from Joleon, who told me it looked like it was going to happen.” I’m not sure how long it took from when the transaction was announced to when he arrived, but Joleon is now at Man City, and Mark Hughes is merely attempting to get rid of me in the agreement to move to Everton!
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Hold on, I’ve done all the dirty work bringing Joleon to Man City, and Mark Hughes hasn’t even told me anything.'” He’s attempting to persuade me to switch sides in a swap transaction’. That’s when I realized I no longer trusted Mark Hughes, not because I lost respect for him.
Reunited once more
There has now been enough time for supporters to see the lighter side of this transfer drama, although there was genuine outrage at the time.
Everton turned down two offers before Lescott submitted a transfer request, which the club turned down outright.
Lescott was met with boos and applause in the only game he played for Everton in the 2009-10 season before he got his way.
At the time, the Toffees were claimed to have grudgingly accepted a £22 million deal from City, where Lescott spent five seasons before moving on to West Bromwich Albion and then Aston Villa.
Despite winning four titles during his tenure at Manchester United, it may be said that his best spell came during his time at Goodison Park.
Richards, meanwhile, joined Villa, where he reconnected with the man he assisted in leaving Goodison Park.
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