Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison says he may be leaving the club to join a Saudi Pro League club this summer.
The Athletic previously reported that the 27-year-old had attracted interest from Saudi Arabia, while Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou said last week the club are interested in signing a striker.
“The money is big but my dream is bigger,” Richarlison, who has three years remaining on his Spurs contract, told ESPN. “An offer has arrived, but my dream of playing for the Brazilian national team and the Premier League is louder. It’s decided.”
Richarlison joined Tottenham from Everton in the summer of 2022 but has failed to establish himself as a reliable goalscorer in north London. He has scored 15 goals and provided eight assists in 66 games for the north London club. Last season, the Brazilian scored 12 goals in 31 appearances for Spurs amid several injury issues.
Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke is a transfer target, but the view from Spurs is that a move for Solanke would not necessarily be dependent on Richarlison leaving.
“I think for us what’s more important is the type of striker we get,” Postecoglou said previously. “You know we play a certain way. We demand certain things from a physical perspective from the technical aspects of it that it’s going be a striker that fits that mould.
“It’s still the area of the park we’re really probably the thinnest when I talk about squad-wise at the moment, so obviously that’s a focus for us.”
Richarlison, meanwhile, opened up in March about his depression following the 2022 World Cup. He said that he told his father he wanted to “give up” after struggling to motivate himself to leave his room and attend training sessions, with the World Cup exit feeling “worse than losing a family member”. He added he has since attended therapy sessions, which he believes helped “save my life”.
Tottenham begin their Premier League season against newly-promoted Leicester City on August 19.
Some supporters said:
It was always a long shot that Richy would leave for Saudi Arabia now. Maybe in a few years, but not while he’s in his athletic prime and playing in a top league while representing Brazil (when fit) on the world stage. Spurs need more strikers as it stands, let’s see if they bring in added competition for Richy.
Another one said:
Aside from his lackluster/unfortunate performances on the pitch, Richarlison seems to be a really decent guy and it´s hard not to root for him as a Spurs fan, in my opinion. He´s unfortunately injured a lot, but his effort and determination always impresses me, he´s a really diligent presser. No wonder he´is not interested in the Saudi Pro League, if a player has any sort of hunger left in him then he´d never go there- but for Spurs the money would´ve obviously been nice, since we need a striker that can hit the target consistently – besides Timo Werner of course
Also,Some supporters might not enjoy this, but I do like it.
For one, at least it shows he’s committed with the club by not going to the “easier” route.
Let’s hope he gets fit and surely he will help a lot.
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