Young star compared to Steven Gerrard and hailed by Liverpool legend now a car dealer at 36
Not many young midfield stars are compared to the great Steven Gerrard, but this was the case for former England under-21 international and Premier League starlet Michael Johnson.
Johnson came through the academy at Manchester City, breaking into the first team at the Etihad Stadium as an 18-year-old under Stuart Pearce in 2006. A season later, the youngster was made an integral part of a new-look City team under Sven-Göran Eriksson.
Johnson played alongside a member of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League-winning team in Dietmar Hamann, and made his mark two games into the season, scoring a long-range effort in a 1-0 win over Derby County.
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This saw the teenager arrive on the big scene, with many tipping the midfielder to become a future England great amid his rapid rise to stardom. One man who knew Johnson's game better than most was his long-time teammate Micah Richards, as the pair came through the City ranks together.
Speaking of Johnson's ability Richards said on the Rest is Football podcast: "People were saying he was a mix of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. "He was tenacious, he could pass, he could arrive in the box late. He was the best natural player at Man City since Colin Bell."
Richards went on: "He got paid a lot of money at a young age and we'd go out on a Saturday and on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. "He would be the best player in training the next day, he was fitter, as strong as anyone and technically as good." His midfield partner Hamann also provided a glowing assessment.
"Sooner or later you will see Michael Johnson playing for England," said Hamann back in 2007 following Johnson's breakthrough goal. "He has done ever so well this season. He trains well, he listens and he wants to improve all the time. He scored a great goal on Wednesday and he has a fantastic career ahead of him."
Sadly for the Englishman however this fantastic career soon came to a halt. In the years following his initial passage into the Premier League, Johnson struggled for full fitness, and after being released by City in December 2012, the central midfielder announced his retirement at just 24.
Johnson later revealed that he struggled with his mental health during his final days as a professional footballer, and following his retirement. "My mindset was just really low. Really low. I had no confidence, no self-esteem," he admitted to The Athletic back in 2020. “My way of dealing with it was to play and to be the best. And if I’m the best, I’m worth something...
"I always thought I was going to feel better about myself by playing football and by being in the first team. When I didn’t get that, when I didn’t get that relief, it was, ‘Oh, actually I don’t feel better’. That light at the end of the tunnel just went.” Since then though, Johnson has turned his mindset away from football, first opening a restaurant, before becoming an estate agent.
His most recent venture has centred around a car dealership, swapping a midfield partnership with Hamann to a family business plan with his dad.