Richarlison Sends Cryptic Social Media Message After Tottenham's Latest Defeat
The exiled striker posted training videos and personal bests following Spurs' loss to Aston Villa.
Tottenham outcast Richarlison has taken to social media to post cryptic messages and training updates just hours after the club's latest Premier League defeat to Aston Villa. The Brazilian striker, who was expected to depart north London this summer but saw a move fall through, has been excluded from Tottenham's first-team squad.
On Saturday, Richarlison shared videos of himself undertaking drills on Instagram, with the caption "The focus remains." He followed this with another video showcasing sprint training, accompanied by the statement "35.4km/h - I broke my record."
Richarlison's future at Tottenham has been uncertain since a proposed transfer to Brazilian side Vasco da Gama collapsed last week. He has not featured in a Premier League matchday squad since the opening-day loss to Brentford and was also left out of the squad for the Carabao Cup third-round defeat to Liverpool.
This omission follows his public questioning of his exclusion. Earlier in the week, Richarlison shared a screenshot of a social media post detailing his absence, adding the message "Why?" along with a tearful emoji.
Tottenham has struggled for goals this season, with their initial two league goals coming only in the recent 3-2 loss to Aston Villa. Manager Roberto De Zerbi has maintained a firm stance on Richarlison's situation.
"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 stated on Monday. "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."
De Zerbi added that the issues between the player and the club were not for him to explain publicly. Richarlison also reportedly saw a deadline-day transfer to Everton collapse due to a failure to agree personal terms.
According to BBC Sport, Richarlison was left out of the squad amid a dispute with the club concerning the remaining nine months of his contract. He signed for Tottenham from Everton in 2022 for a reported £60 million and was the club's top scorer in the Premier League last season with 11 goals. He continues to train with the squad, with the exception of tactical sessions.