Richarlison's Failed Move to Brazil Leaves Him at Tottenham
Richarlison’s proposed escape route back to Brazil has collapsed, leaving the forward in limbo at Tottenham until at least January.
The Brazil international had appeared close to a move to boyhood club Vasco da Gama, but the deal has fallen apart after he failed to agree personal terms, the Press Association understands. Vasco had reached an agreement with Spurs over a fee on Friday, yet the final step never came.
So he stays. But he cannot play.
Tottenham had already made their stance clear. Before the English transfer window shut, the club informed Richarlison he was not part of their first-team plans for this season. That warning was underlined last week when he was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad.
A return to Everton was on the table but never materialised before the September 1 deadline. Once that window closed, Richarlison’s options shrank quickly. With the Turkish and Saudi Arabian markets shutting on Friday and Sunday, one of the few remaining paths was a permanent move back to Brazil. Spurs had already used up their six overseas loan slots, ruling out another temporary switch abroad.
Vasco stepped forward with a solution that suited almost everyone. Almost.
The Brazilian club, where Richarlison came through as a youngster, pushed hard and found an agreement with Tottenham. Personal terms proved the stumbling block, and with Brazil’s transfer window set to close on Saturday, time has run out. PA understands he is now expected to remain at Spurs for the first half of the season, despite being ineligible for Premier League action.
Roberto De Zerbi did start Richarlison in the league opener away to Brentford on August 22, but the relationship has clearly unravelled since. Asked about the forward’s situation in his press conference on Friday, the head coach kept his answers sharp.
“I don’t know,” De Zerbi said when pressed for an update. “It’s not my job. What I can say is I know very well what the club has done for Richarlison and I know very well what Richarlison has done for the club in the last month, two months.
“I know, the club knows, he knows, his agent knows. Everyone knows better than you.”
Behind the scenes, Richarlison has been exploring drastic options. This week, he was reportedly looking into whether the final nine months of his Spurs contract could be terminated. No agreement has been reached on that front either.
The striker joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 and hit 11 league goals last season, a crucial contribution in keeping the club clear of relegation trouble. That impact is not lost on De Zerbi, who admitted the ending feels sour.
“I’m sorry because I have one player less on the list,” he said. “Richarlison is a good guy, a very good guy. I spoke with him a lot of times and I spent time to convince him to stay, but if you ask me, I know the truth.
“I know what happened in the last month, the last 45 days and it’s clear, but I’m not frustrated.
“If I had decided myself to leave him outside of the squad, I would have regrets, but the decision has not even been taken by the club. It has been a consequence of what I told you already that he has decided by his own.
“I’m sorry because it could be different. Even the end of the story, but a different way, I think.
“It could have been better, or it was much better Richarlison inside of the list, Richarlison happy to stay, maybe to extend his contract, because he is still an important player.
“He was important last season, we can’t forget, but we can’t forget also the last 45 days.”
So Richarlison remains a Tottenham player, sidelined from the Premier League, stuck between a past he could not quite return to and a future at the club that currently has no place for him. January now looms as the next decisive chapter.
