Former Manchester City right-back, Micah Richards has divulged some interesting happenings at the team’s training ground during the era of Italian coach Roberto Mancini that resulted in the club sanctioning the sale of English full-back Kieran Trippier.
Trippier who came through the Manchester City academy was let go by the club in 2012 following a successful loan spell at Burnley.
Speaking on the The Rest is Football podcast Micah Richard suggested that Emmanuel Adebayor played a role in the decision by the club to offload Trippier.
"I just remember in training, we were doing this session of attack versus defense, you might have four defenders versus three attackers or vice versa. He was up against Adebayor, you know Adebayor always went to the left side, held it up and did some skills or whatnot.
"Every time Adebayor got the ball, he absolutely destroyed Trippier in a one-on-one situation. The manager at the time, I think it was Mancini, but what everyone didn't know, the part of his game which was the best was going forward. They were exploiting his weaknesses and not seeing his strengths.
"When he was allowed to go to Burnley, I remember all of the lads saying this is the biggest mistake ever. Send him out on loan for a couple of seasons, and when he fills out a little bit...but the technique he had, the timing of his runs, the passing, the commitment he showed. I was like he's going to be a top player,” he said.
Kieran Trippier had a successful stint at Burnley in the Championship that pushed Tottenham Hotspur to sign him.
His career has been on an upward curve since then which has seen him play for Atletico Madrid and Newcastle.
Emmanuel Adebayor joined Manchester City from Arsenal in 2012 for a fee of £25million.
Watch Sports Check with Ryan Bertrand
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
EK