Manchester City scare off Real Madrid with £25m Richards valuation

Manchester City scare off Real Madrid with €32m Richards valuation

Jul 19, 2012 2:25:00 PM

The England international has a 20 per cent sell-on clause in his current contract that is likely to dissuade the Spanish giants from launching a bid to sign him

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By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

Real Madrid would have to find €32 (£25) million in order to tempt Manchester City into selling Micah Richards, Goal.com has learned.

The Premier League champions value the defender so highly because there is a sell-on clause in the deal that took him to City as a 14-year-old, entitling his former club Oldham to 20 per cent of any future fee.

City attempted to buy out the clause when the club were under the management of Stuart Pearce six years ago, but Oldham, currently in the third tier of English football, refused, hoping they would receive a larger windfall further down the line.

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ALBERTO PINERO, GOAL.COM SPAIN

"Real Madrid are not keen on spending €24m on Richards. The club is in austerity mode and they will probably pay up to €40m for Luka Modric and €62m for just two players is not what they have in mind.

"Real Madrid already have a right back, Alvaro Arbeloa and they also have Sergio Ramos while there is a possibility that Carvalho (centre back) and Lassana Diarra (who has also played as right back) will remain."

The Spanish giants are in the market for a proven right back and manager Jose Mourinho is known to be a long-term admirer of the versatile City defender.

But Madrid are unwilling to spend more than £10m on a player to compete with Alvaro Arbeloa, the established player, and an ever-present member of Spain’s victorious Euro 2012 side, on the right-hand side of their defence.

The Liga giants have made attempts to prise Brazil international Maicon from Inter already this summer, while Richards name has been mentioned in dispatches at the club and had been viewed as a potentially cheaper alternative.

Real, however, do not regard bolstering the right-back position as a top priority – they are keen to conclude a deal for Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric - at the moment and are unlikely to make a formal move for the versatile City defender, who is currently preparing for the Olympics as one of Great Britain's three over-age players.

City would demand around £25m for Richards, who was a key figure in the club's Premier League triumph before injury and a loss of form saw him lose his place in the side to Pablo Zabaleta during the run-in.