The former Manchester City defender says he had to seek help from doctors in order to “escape” getting onto the pitch

Micah Richards, the 35-year-old former England defender, told the Rest is Football show that he had asked manager Manuel Pellegrini not to play after the hotel minibar was “assaulted” at Manchester City’s training camp.

The former footballer, who represented the Nationals for ten years, explained that he was returning from injury and thought he would not play. “We arrived at the hotel the day before the match. Usually they remove all the alcohol from the minibar, but in my room they didn’t do that. So I said to myself: I’ve recovered from the injury, I won’t play.” “…I’m going to have a drink. But then they took two drinks, turned into three, and before I knew it, I’d already had 10.”

The problem was that there was a last-minute injury and Pellegrini had to call up Micah Richards to play. The TV commentator now remembers that he got into trouble, but ended up not taking the field thanks to the connivance of the medical team. “The relationship between physiotherapists and players is different from that with a coach. The doctor and the ‘physiotherapist’ try to protect you whenever possible.”

“Manuel Pellegrini called me and asked me: Are you playing or not?” “I’m not ready boss, my hamstring’s not feeling well yet,” said the former player, who has previously told doctors: “Last night I was too hot, I’ll have to come up with an excuse.” “I can’t be on the team, I can’t.”

The “case” was resolved with another player entering the field.

Written by Isabelle Dantas