Micah Richards on x-rated Mario Balotelli prank that got him in hot water with new manager

"Like the absolute idiot that I am, I spoke to Balotelli."

Micah Richards explains how Mario Balotelli managed to get him into hot water with his new manager at Florentina, even though they were no longer teammates. Richards and Balotelli got on famously during their time together at Manchester City, but everyone knew that the Italian had a reputation for getting into mischief. Whether he was starting fights at training, letting off fireworks in his bathroom or scoring twice in games before getting sent off, the hot-headed striker always found a way to get into the papers. Even when the two friends were no longer teammates, Balotelli still managed to get Richards in trouble with managers, as the Englishman had just made the move to Italy, and asked his friend for some help. Not knowing any of the language, Richards relied on the former Italy international to teach him some phrases, and it went pretty much as well as you would imagine. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards explained: "I went to Fiorentina on the last day of the transfer window and obviously I don't speak Italian - I've got 'Si' - yes, basically.

"Like the absolute idiot that I am, I spoke to Balotelli to say 'What should I say when I'm greeting someone?' Because he's normally good.

"That was the first time I've told this story because I'm thinking 'Should I tell it? Should I tell it?'

"I've gone up to the manager and called him a f***ing d***head. What an idiot. You know what, why didn't I just check? You can just Google it. For some reason, I just believed Balotelli. He set me up, he got me a kipper.

"And to be fair to Montella he just started laughing." To be fair, as far as Balotelli pranks go, it could have been a lot worse for the former City star. Related links:

• Micah Richards tells cracking Stephen Ireland story from their Man City days
• Bruno Fernandes responds to Micah Richards' claims that his behaviour is "pathetic"
• Micah Richards rips into Roy Keane for bringing packed lunch to studio