​FILE PHOTO – English former football player Micah Richards arrives at Silverstone Circuit for the 2022 Grand Prix of Britain Formula One race. (is associated with: «Former Man City defender Richards ‘absolutely devastated’ by verdict») Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpaFormer Manchester City defender Micah Richards says the Premier League’s damning verdict on the club has left him devastated and heartbroken.City were found to have engaged in an almost £1 billion ($1.3 billion) scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of “sham” arrangements in order to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations from 2009 to 2018.The eight-time Premier League champions face severe sanctions at a separate hearing, including a possible points deduction which could see them relegated, although City remain defiant and immediately declared their intention to appeal.Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards said: “The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated.“I’ve been at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating.”Richards described speaking to the fan he used to live with as a young player at the club, adding: “My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know, I haven’t got the answers to tell him.“And that’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years, and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking.“To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a lit bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said, if he was a City player, he would throw all the medals in the bin.Speaking on ITV, Keane said: “They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it, and, if I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin.“It’s cheating. You’re hearing nonsense about some ex-players saying, ‘Oh well, they won on the pitch’. Because it was cheating! It was cheating going on.”