Micah Richards set to retire from football at 30 | OneFootball

Former England defender Micah Richards is expected to hang up his boots at the end of the season at the age of just 30.

Richards is still at Aston Villa but hasn’t made a first-team appearance since October 2016.

The ex-Manchester City and Fiorentina man has struggled with persistent knee injuries and according to the Daily Mail, he is not part of Villa boss Dean Smith’s plans.

Speaking after taking over at Villa Park from Steve Bruce in October, Smith said: “Micah has not played for a long time so he’s not near fitness to be in contention at all at the moment. He’s been on a special programme, the training minutes he hasn’t had so far.

“We’ll see how his body adapts as we go.”

Richards is out of contract in the summer and is likely to retire from football, unless he is able to find a pay-as-you-play deal elsewhere. He is also understood to have business interests outside the game.

The Leeds-born right-back came through the academy at Manchester City and made his senior debut for the club at 17 before taking Rio Ferdinand’s record by becoming the youngest defender to play for England at 18.

He earned 13 caps in all and represented Team GB at the 2012 London Olympics.

He went on to win the Premier League title and the FA Cup before leaving the Etihad Stadium – first on loan to Fiorentina and then to Villa in 2015

Former Villans boss Roberto Di Matteo reportedly blocked Richards from joining West Ham in the summer of 2016 and the last concrete offer of a move elsewhere came from MLS side Orlando City in January 2017.

He has not been named in a matchday squad for 16 months and Villa were reportedly unwilling to terminate his contract last year because insurance premiums would not cover the club, leaving him in limbo until the end of his current deal.