Richarlison Questions De Zerbi’s Decision To Drop Him Against Liverpool

Richarlison has questioned Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi’s decision to leave him out of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.

The Brazilian striker shared a screenshot of a social media post announcing his omission and added the message, “Why?” alongside a tearful, sad-faced emoji. His reaction comes amid growing uncertainty over his future at Tottenham following the collapse of a proposed move to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama last week.

Tottenham reportedly agreed a fee with Vasco for the 29-year-old, but the deal collapsed after the clubs failed to agree personal terms before Brazil’s transfer window closed on Friday. Richarlison also saw a proposed £35m deadline-day move to Everton fall through after he failed to agree personal terms with the Toffees.

De Zerbi said on Monday that he had tried to convince Richarlison to remain at Tottenham and extend his contract, but claimed the forward rejected his efforts.

“At the start of this season, I spoke to him many times to convince him to stay, and he didn’t want to,” De Zerbi said.

“I can’t go every day to pray for him to stay.

“What I have done at the beginning of this season has been to speak with him and to propose an extension of the contract. If he said, ‘no thank you,’ I finished my job.

“I know what happened in the last 45 days. It’s not right if I explained. It’s not my behaviour. The relationship, the problem is between the player and the club.”

Richarlison was left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad amid a dispute over the final nine months of his contract. He is understood to be seeking a release from the deal, which expires next summer, although Spurs have the option to extend it by another 12 months.

His continued absence comes at a difficult time for Tottenham, who are still searching for their first Premier League win under De Zerbi. Spurs have failed to score in their opening four league matches, the first time in the club’s history they have gone without a goal in their first four games.

Tottenham spent more than £300m during the summer to strengthen De Zerbi’s squad after finishing 17th in the Premier League in each of the previous two seasons. Richarlison was the club’s leading scorer last season with 12 goals in all competitions and has scored four times in seven appearances against Liverpool since joining Spurs.

The striker joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 after previous spells with Watford and Everton. He has won 54 caps for Brazil.