His wages were always going to be a problem, certainly more than Newcastle were prepared to pay, so a deal was never going to get off the drawing board.
Richards says he has no bad feelings towards Manchester City, but does resent the lack of playing time he was given by the Premier League champions.
Micah Richards: "I don't have any bad feelings towards the club.
"They put me on the map and gave me a chance when I was 17.
"But I do have bad feelings towards the playing time (I was given).
"For any player, when you're not playing it's frustrating. When Roberto Mancini was in charge, he would rotate the full-backs.
"When we won the league in 2012, I played more than (Pablo) Zabaleta.
"So, I feel as though I could have been given more chances to play (under Pellegrini). I felt like I had improved and that I could do it at that level.
"It's going to be hard for kids to come through.
"If you look at the squad now there's 22 international players.
"You're going to have to be extra special to get through."