Micah Richards says Man Utd legend 'looked at him in disgust' after finding out about his most extravagant purchase

Micah Richards received a "look of disgust" from a Manchester United legend after he find out about his most outrageous purchase.

Richards infamously "burst onto the scene" as a 17-year-old and ended up becoming an England debutant at the age of 18.

His £500-a-week salary soon improved to £5,000 and then it no-time Richards was collecting a whopping £50,000-a-week, as well as bonuses, appearance money and a mammoth signing-on fee.

As expected, he regularly splashed the cash on expensive cars like a Range Rover, Aston Martin and a Ferrari.

But one particular purchase had one of his City teammates scoffing. Former United striker Andy Cole played with Richards towards the end of his career, scoring 10 goals in 232 appearances.

Micah Richards burst onto the scene as a youngster. Image: Getty

And when Richards forked out on an expensive watch which he still has to this day, the ex England man issued a brutal put-down and years later he admitted that Cole was "actually right".

"Do you remember Jacob and co watches, with all the diamonds in?" Richards asked Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.

"I went full in. I've still got it. The watch is ruined, the diamonds don't even look real to be honest.

"And Andy Cole pulled me didn't he? He used to call me 'topper'. He just looked at me in disgust and said, 'What on God's earth are you doing?'. He said, 'you're buying a £20,000 watch and you've not even got a house.

"At the time I was thinking, 'Who does this guy think he is, it's my money I'll do what I want'. But then you go home and think about it and he's actually right."

Richards had moment of realisation in Los Angeles

Richards developed a habit of big purchases and his lifestyle meant he would frequently rack up massive bar tabs in clubs. However, there was a point where he realised that it was time for him to cut out his reckless spending when he spent $150,000 in a single night.

Speaking on BBC's Match of the Day top 10, Richards recalled: "That was over $150,000 in a night. It was so over the top and we would be throwing in tips and we just wanted the biggest bottle (of Champagne). It was just short of $100,000.

"And it was at that moment my mindset changed. I'd booked to go for a month, but I came home after three weeks, saying, 'I can't do this anymore. I can't. I'm going to end up with no money."

Since then Richards has been savvy with investments in property and is also a regular pundit on Sky Sports, CBS Sports and the BBC.