Richarlison accused Tottenham of under-playing him following a humiliating Champions League exit at the hands of Milan, blaming his lack of playing time for a “s***” season.
Richarlison claims that promises have been broken along the way and expresses frustration with head coach Antonio Conte. He claimed that he was promised a starting spot against Milan if he passed a fitness test on Tuesday, but was instead benched.
Richarlison believes he has been playing well, citing his performances against Chelsea and West Ham as examples. However, he was unexpectedly benched and only played five minutes against Wolves. When he asked for an explanation, no one gave him one.
Speaking frankly after the match, Richarlison said: “There is frustration, of course. We’re out of the biggest club competition. We can’t play like that, needing to score. The team had to play more offensively, especially in the second half.
“There’s not a lot to say now, we can’t go chasing someone to take the blame. Now there’s only the Premier League to play, a training session tomorrow and a match against [Nottingham] Forest in the next round.
“I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham, and suddenly I was on the bench. I played five minutes against Wolves, asked the reason and no one told me why.”
Richarlison said he was told he would start against Milan if he passed a fitness test on Tuesday, but then he found himself benched.
“There are things I can’t understand. There was no explanation again,” he said. “Let’s see what he will tell us tomorrow, but I’m not silly, I’m a professional that works hard every day and I want to play. There hasn’t been enough minutes given to me.
“This season, and forgive my language, has been s***. I don’t have enugh minutes, was injured for a bit, but when I’m on the pitch I give my life.
“I played well in two games, especially against Chelsea, so I think I should have played tonight, but I can’t go on crying about it now.
“We have around 15 games to play now and the focus is that. I’ll try to score as many goals as I can because the club has paid a lot of money for me and I haven’t given enough back on the pitch yet.”
It remains to be seen what the ramifications of his outburst will be and whether it will lead to more playing time for him.