I’m a former Premier League winner who set up side hustle at 18 and it’s now worth millions – I was dubbed ‘Mr Monopoly’
MICAH RICHARDS was a savvy defender on the pitch and has revealed that he has been savvy off it too.
The former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender has a side hustle that is worth millions.
Richards, 35, started the company when he was 18 as a fallback should his football career not work out.
It proved a savvy move, especially with the ex-England international forced to retire early at the age of 31 due to fitness issues.
He has a portfolio of properties in places such as Leeds, Harrogate and Manchester.
Speaking on podcast, he said: "When football's finished, you've got nothing to fall back on.
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"There is [a lot of life after football].
"I started a property company when I was 18. When things weren't going right, or even when things were going right, I had a distraction from football 24/7.
"I was building up my property portfolio, I started doing developments around the Leeds and Manchester area. It just gave me a purpose after football.
"I didn't know I was going to be a pundit after football.
"The way my career ended, I didn't want to be anywhere near football.
"But having that other thing to turn to, in my case property, it really did help in terms of having a schedule and giving me that work balance.
"It was really good for me."
The source revealed: "Micah has been investing in property for years and some of the places he bought years ago went for a song.
"He's always been smart with his cash. People joke he's got more addresses than a Monopoly board."
Richards has also previously admitted that one of his houses was rented by Leeds star Ilian Meslier.
The former Premier League winner also works as a pundit on broadcasters such as Sky, BBC and CBS.
He admitted that he works so widely because he rejected a massive contract offer from Manchester City during his career.