Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards claims he could be the club captain by now it if wasn't for the influx of star names funded by Sheikh Mansour's City Football Group.
Richards, 26, made his debut for City in 2005 and went on to make 179 Premier League appearances before joining Fiorentina on a free transfer last summer.
After falling out of favour last season -- he made just two league appearances and missed out on a championship medal -- he turned down the offer of a new deal in search of regular first team football.
It has not worked out for the England international, as he has just three Serie A starts to his name at Fiorentina, but he does feel he would have the skipper's armband at City now had the club not been transformed by the Abu Dhabi millions.
"If we didn't get the investment we did, I'd probably be captain now,'' Richards told the Daily Telegraph. "I probably wouldn't have left. I had a chance to go to Chelsea five years ago, and Manchester United. But I didn't feel it was right.
"I always enjoyed City. They gave me a chance at such a young age [17]. I've been a bit unfortunate because whenever I picked up some form I got a niggling injury. With City, if you get an injury you can find yourself out of the team for months.
"I spoke to Txiki [Begiristain, director of football] last season and he said: 'Do you want to sign a new deal?' I got offered four years. 'Well, it depends on how much I play,' I said.
"The nail in the coffin was not getting the Premier League medal. I made only four [sic] appearances in the league. I can play centre-half as well, and wasn't even considered in that position. Javi Garcia, a central midfielder, was going in at centre-half. People were asking for tickets -- and I was not even in the squad. I couldn't come to terms with it.
"So I said to Txiki: 'I'm not going to sign.' He said: 'Well, all right, cool, we've got to move quickly, we've got to get a right back.' Bacary Sagna is a proven Premier League and Champions League right back. I don't think it was a bad move. They got him on a free contract. I'd have backed myself to get ahead of Sagna. I know how good I am as a player.
"I do feel it is closed now at City for me unless Roberto Mancini got the job and wanted to bring me back in!
"It's nothing to do with money. If it was for money, I'd have signed at City. I've been playing since I was 17 and until two years ago, I've always been first choice so not to be first choice is difficult to take.
"It was emotional because I was at City for a long time but some day I'll be back there in some capacity, maybe not coaching, I'd like to scout players. I do love City. City fans have always been great to me."
Richards also spoke about his refusal to go on the standby list for England's Euro 2012 squad -- a decision which backfired as injuries in the weeks leading to the tournament in Poland and Ukraine would have meant he was selected. He has not since added to his 13 caps.
He explained that coach Roy Hodgson's failure to call him personally irked him.
"England is a touchy subject,'' Richards added. "It was a weird situation because I got a call from Stuart Pearce. Why's he ringing me? Why not Hodgson?
"Stuart said: 'Roy's not going to take you to the Euros but he wants you to go on standby.' 'What? Why's he not ringing me?' 'I don't know -- I'm just passing on a message. But you know I will have you in my [Great Britain] Olympic squad.'''