Pundit Micah Richards was brutally savaged by his old Manchester City pal Craig Bellamy when he bumped into the newly appointed Wales boss at Burnley.
Despite a stellar career on the telly with Sky Sports, BBC and CBS Sports, Richards got a dressing down from the 45-year-old Wales head coach during his time as an assistant at Burnley, reports the Mirror.
Bellamy, who briefly took over from new Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany in charge of the Clarets, chalked up a whopping 78 caps as skipper for his national side and has over 400 league appearances under his belt. But he is also known for having strong opinions he likes to share – and Richards knows all about that.
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“We obviously both played with Bellers [Bellamy], and he’s marmite – you either love him or you hate him,” ex-England star and Match of the Day regular Richards told Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“He worked his socks off when he was at Man City, did all his pre-activation, but he would tell you how it is. If you played rubbish, he would tell you.
(Image: Getty Images)
“So, I’ve gone to see… I remember last season Man City had Burnley, first game of the season. I went up to go see a training session a couple of days before and I go to the game. So, I’m walking into the ground – I think it was at the ground – for whatever reason, to go see [Vincent] Kompany.
“And I’ve seen Bellers come up, and he goes: ‘F*** me, you’re f****** everywhere talking s*** all the time!’ I just said, ‘Bellers, what do you mean?’ He said: ‘You boys on analysis don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve got basic analysis. It’s ABC, 123 stuff. If you want proper analysis, come to Burnley’s training ground, and I will show you how it’s done’.
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(Image: PA)
“I thought to myself, ‘I don’t know if he was being serious or having banter.’ But he was being deadly serious. I didn’t know how to take it. I didn’t say nothing, I got in my car and drove home basically thought he’s just mugged me right off there in front of everyone, and I’ve just taken it. So, when I see him again I’ll be pulling him up on certain bits and pieces.”
Bellamy’s first outing in charge of Wales ended in a well-contested 0-0 draw, and saw him realise a lifelong dream. “It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead my country and it’s the proudest moment of my career,” Bellamy stated before taking to the dugout for the first time.
(Image: Getty)
“It was always my ultimate dream to become the Cymru head coach and I am ready for the challenge. The chance to be the manager of Wales, my country, has always been a dream that has never left me and a chance I just couldn’t turn down.”
Richards, meanwhile, will be back on Sky Sports this weekend providing analysis for Bellamy to keep a close eye on when Premier League football returns.