Richards admits he may have to quit being a City slicker to salvage his career

Manchester City's longest-serving player Micah Richards admits he may have to leave the club due to a lack of first-team football.
Richards, 25, has stalled on a new deal with City after seeing his star fall from being a bright young England international to Pablo Zabaleta’s understudy as right-back with City.

The defender is out of contract at the end of next season and, although he says it would be a wrench to leave, he is waiting to see how many games he gets under new manager Manuel Pellegrini before making a decision on his future.

Rare chance to shine: Micah Richards played against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League but has only played twice in the Premier League

First choice: Pablo Zabaleta, seen here tangling with Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen, is keeping Richards out of the City team

Richards has been a one-club man all his career and City finished 15th under Stuart Pearce in his 2005-06 debut season — before the Abu Dhabi money arrived.
‘I’ve already spoken to City and they’re happy to extend my deal, but I’ve said I want to see how many games I play this season,’ he said. ‘I don’t ever want to leave City with the way it’s going, but it’s one of those where you have to look at your career and say, “Are you playing enough?”
‘Come the end of the season, I’ll do that. Hopefully I’ll have played enough — but at the moment I don’t think  I am playing enough to get my top sharpness.’

Heads up: Richards fights for the ball with Plzen's Michal Duris in a Champions League clash

Decision maker: City's manager Manuel Pellegrini has opted to leave Richards out of the starting line-up

Rare recent sight: Richards on England duty in 2012 against Holland but he is way down Roy Hodgson's pecking order at present

Richards was tipped to win 100 caps when he became the youngest defender to make his England debut, aged 18, against Holland in 2006.

But he was ruthlessly snubbed by Fabio Capello and is way down Roy Hodgson’s pecking order for the World Cup.

With Pellegrini picking an all-foreign XI at City in recent weeks, his immediate prospects do not look great, even if he faces Swansea on Sunday.
So far this season he has featured in just two Premier League games, both away from home.
City want him to stay but Richards will not rush into anything, with Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs all keen on him in the past.