GARY LINEKER and Alan Shearer were left gobsmacked after Micah Richards revealed he could barely see during matches.
Richards enjoyed an impressive 14-year career playing for the likes of Fiorentina, Aston Villa and most notably Manchester City where he won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012.
And what makes this more astonishing was the fact the footballer-turned-pundit played with a major impairment.
The former defender admitted he could only see the ball when it was “about five or 10 yards” away from him due to his poor eyesight.
The former England international was well aware of his issue but wouldn’t wear contacts as his eyes would hurt.
The 35-year-old joined Lineker and Shearer on The Rest is Football podcast and took a question from a fan asking about visual impairment which led to a hilarious discussion.
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The Match of the Day presenters were so shocked they even claimed the former centre-back could have become one of the all-time greats if he only wore contact lenses.
Richards said: “No, I didn’t wear contacts [but] I needed to wear contacts.
“I’m not exaggerating, I swear I could only see the ball when it was about five or 10 yards in front of me…”
Lineker gasped as Shearer started laughing his socks off: “You’re joking!”
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Richards continued: “I just had to sort of guess…”
Shearer then quipped: “That’s why you made so many f*****g mistakes!”
And Lineker commented: “Crickey, you could have been the greatest defender of all time if you could see.”
Richards responded: “I know! One of the physios said to me, ‘F*****g hell, if you could actually see you’d be the next f*****g [Franz] Beckenbauer!’
Lineker asked: “Why didn’t you get contacts?”
Richards explained: “I couldn’t wear them, they used to hurt my eyes.”
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Kostas Lianos
