Micah Richards reaffirms 2034 punditry exit and backs Maddison as his natural successor

Micah Richards has doubled down on his plan to walk away from punditry after the 2034 World Cup, and has named Tottenham midfielder James Maddison as the man best placed to succeed him on the sofa.

The 38-year-old former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender first set the 2034 deadline in July, informing Sky Sports, the BBC and CBS of his intentions. Speaking to The Times this week, Richards confirmed nothing has changed — and offered a characteristically direct explanation for his thinking.

“By then I’ll have been 15 years a player and 15 years a pundit and what more could I ask for?” Richards said. “I don’t want to work past my sell-by date. Fifteen years, whether you like me or hate me, that’s enough time to get across my point. There’ll be someone else on the sofa by then. Grealish… or Maddison. Definitely Maddison. He’s a natural on TV. He’s the next one.”

Richards retired from playing in 2019 after a 14-year career that also included a spell with Fiorentina and 13 caps for England. He moved quickly into broadcasting, becoming a fixture on Match of the Day, Final Score and Radio 5 Live, as well as joining the CBS Sports Golazo team alongside host Kate Scott, Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry.

It was Henry, Richards revealed, who pushed him to sharpen the analytical side of his work. “He said, ‘You’ve got a good football brain, but all my friends text me about is how much of a great personality you are,’” Richards recalled. “Thierry said at some point there’s got to be a switch, because when you talk about football, it was, ‘I like what you’re talking about, but we don’t hear it enough.’”