Man City, Richards recounts: "Balotelli set off fireworks inside my house"

Micah Richards, member of the 2012 Manchester City title winners in the Premier League, is retired from football after his most recent stint at Aston Villa coming last season. Speaking to Sport Bible, he discussed the season in depth, discussing several key players who are now protagonists in Italy. First, on Balotelli who once set off fireworks in Richards' house, starting a small blaze: "Mario is funny and a great lad.He actually came to my house a couple of weeks before the fireworks incident and he set some off again in my house. was like 'you know you can't do this? What's going through your mind?'. He just thinks everything is funny. That's why I like him so much. He doesn't take life too seriously."

Also on Mancini: "He could be a nightmare at times to work with, because he was such a perfectionist, if you weren't doing your job, he would tell you. To win a Premier League against the likes of Wenger and Ferguson, was an unbelievable achievement." And on Dzeko: "He was one of the most underrated players I've ever played with. Sergio was our main man and Mancini loved Balotelli so Dzeko didn't start as much as he should have done. Every time he played though, he was great. Great touch. He scored some really important goals as well."