Micah Richards stands by Olympics call that ended his England career at 23

Micah Richards has defended the choice that cost him his England career, insisting he would make the same decision again even knowing the consequences. The former Manchester City right-back turned down Roy Hodgson’s offer of a standby place for Euro 2012 in order to represent Team GB at the London Olympics under Stuart Pearce.

Richards, now 38, earned his 13th and final England cap in a friendly against the Netherlands in February 2012. Despite holding out hope for a recall, he was never selected again — a reality he has come to accept without bitterness.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I enjoyed it. It was one of the best times of my life,” Richards said of the Olympics. “I wanted to go and play under Pearce as I knew him from here at City. Was I wrong for making the decision? Maybe. But I wanted to play in the Olympics.”

He acknowledged the frustration of watching his international prospects fade despite domestic success at club level. “People ask me the question about getting back in the England squad and I think, ‘I won the FA Cup and then the Premier League in 12 months and I still didn’t get in.’ So what can I do? I couldn’t do any more than that.”

While Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly travelled to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 — where England fell in the quarter-finals on penalties to Italy — Richards competed at the Olympics, only to suffer a similar fate. Team GB were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by South Korea on penalties.

Kyle Walker’s injury had created the opening that led to Hodgson’s standby offer, but Richards felt the terms were insufficient given his form. “Kyle Walker got injured and I was still being asked to go only on standby,” he said.

Since retiring from football in 2019, Richards has built a prominent career as a television pundit and covered England’s third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup. He has, however, indicated that his time in broadcasting is not indefinite, telling The Telegraph he plans to step away from mainstream media by the age of 46 and does not intend to work beyond the 2034 World Cup.