Micah Richards has claimed that Manchester City sold a player last summer who does not get the credit he deserves.

Over the years, such has been the case with several City players, due to how many world-class players they have had in their ranks.

When a potentially underappreciated player does leave the Etihad Stadium to play in another league, the praise they garner is increasingly likely to decrease due to how much attention the Premier League demands.

Micah Richards says Ilkay Gundogan is very underrated Micah Richards believes that is the case with Ilkay Gundogan, who was named as the best German player in Premier League history in the latest episode of BBC Match of the Day's Top 10 show.

"How good is he?", he said.

MORE MAN CITY STORIES

"He's just, [he] can do absolutely everything."

"I don't think he gets as much credit as he should."

"No, I don't. If you talk about top midfielders, his name's never really in the conversation, is it?"

"He's got everything, hasn't he? He's really got everything."

Back in December, Micah Richards also stated that Manchester City were missing the "vital" presence of now-Barcelona maestro Ilkay Gundogan.

The presence of Kevin De Bruyne may have played a part in how underappreciated Ilkay Gundogan was at Manchester City A case can be made about the German captain still being overlooked by the masses as his splendid displays in an unconvincing Blaugrana side are perhaps not garnering the praise they deserve.

But at Manchester City, perhaps one reason why Ilkay Gundogan was underrated, as Micah Richards stated was due to Kevin De Bruyne's presence.

If De Bruyne plays for any midfield in the world, he will likely grab most of the spotlight because of how much of a superstar he is and also how his tangible impact makes him hard to ignore.

Gundogan, on the other hand, for most of his time at City mastered aspects of the game that often go amiss such as his versatility and how he made his side tick, while a player like the Belgian has a much more all-action playing style.

But when Ilkay Gundogan must gaze at his trophy cabinet, that must delight him, regardless of whether or not he feels he gets praised as much as he should be by the masses.