The Sky Sports pundit burst onto the scene for the Cityzens in 2006 at the age of just 18 and went on to make 246 appearances for the club.
In the same year, he became the youngest defender to ever play for England when he stood in for Gary Neville at right-back in a friendly against the Netherlands.
Around this time, top clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United reportedly began circling for the talented youngster and City faced a battle to secure the services of the star.
And Richards used the hype around his breakthrough season to his advantage, telling The Rest is Football that he asked his agent to make up a story that Spanish giants Real were interested in signing him.
Micah Richards has admitted he concocted a fake Real Madrid transfer rumour to see an improved contract with Manchester City over the line
The Sky Sports pundit (pictured, in 2013) burst onto the scene for the Cityzens in 2006
In the same year, he became the youngest defender to ever play for England
He said: 'I was getting a new contract, had just made my debut for England, and all that.
'It was said that Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man Utd were all involved.
'We were about five grand-a-week away [during negotiations], so I said to my agent, "Just do a little rumour, that Real Madrid want me too."
'It was reported on: "Real Madrid want Micah Richards" and whatnot. I'm not joking, two days later I signed a deal with Man City. I'm not saying it worked, but…'
The 36-year-old also explained why he ended up taking a 50 per cent pay cut to move to Aston Villa in 2015.
'You had to have so much English players for the quota,' he said. 'So, Man City offered me 100k a week on a five-and-a-half-year deal.
'And I said no because I was number two behind Pablo Zabaleta. I'm not all about the money.
'I went to Aston Villa, that was less money. But then we got relegated in the first season, so my wages halved.
On his England debut, Richards stood in for Gary Neville, now his Sky colleague, at right-back
Richards turned out just 31 times for Villa in the four years that followed, with kneww injuries
The former footballer is now a popular pundit on Sky Sports, while also making regular appearances on BBC's Match of the Day and CBS in the United States.