Richarlison's Failed Return to Brazil Leaves Him at Tottenham

Richarlison’s proposed return to Brazil has collapsed, leaving the forward stranded at Tottenham and frozen out of the Premier League picture until at least January.

The Brazil international had been in talks over 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 player side of the negotiation never crossed the line.

So he stays. But he cannot play.

Out of the plans, out of the squad

Tottenham had already made their stance brutally clear. Before the English transfer window shut on September 1, Richarlison was told he was not in the first-team plans for this season.

He then missed out on a deadline-day switch back to Everton, and the situation hardened last week when he was omitted from Spurs’ 25-man Premier League squad. That decision effectively shut the door on his involvement domestically until the winter window.

With Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s transfer windows closing on Friday and Sunday, the options shrank fast. Spurs have already used their six overseas loan slots, so only a permanent exit made sense. A return to Brazil emerged as one of the last viable escape routes.

Vasco stepped up. The clubs shook hands on a deal. The forward did not.

With Brazil’s transfer window closing on Saturday, Richarlison is now expected to remain at Tottenham for the first half of the season, unable to feature in the Premier League despite being under contract and training with the club.

De Zerbi: “He decided everything alone”

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi started Richarlison in the league opener at Brentford on August 22, but the relationship has unravelled quickly since.

Speaking on Friday, after the 29-year-old was left out of the squad list, De Zerbi was blunt about how events had unfolded.

“He decided everything alone,” the Italian said, making it clear he did not see this as a club-driven exile.

Asked for an update on the situation, De Zerbi added: “I don’t know. 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.”

The message was sharp: the reasons for this stand-off lie in the recent past, and they are not up for public debate.

A messy end to a crucial spell

Richarlison has reportedly been exploring whether the final nine months of his Spurs contract could be terminated, an extreme route that would make him a free agent. For now, that remains only an avenue under consideration rather than an agreed outcome.

The forward joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 and hit 11 league goals last season, a vital contribution in keeping the club in the top flight. That recent importance is exactly what makes the current stalemate feel so jarring.

De Zerbi admitted the story should have closed on a different note.

“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 in limbo: a key figure in last season’s survival fight, now locked out of the league squad, his move home aborted, and his future at Spurs effectively pushed into the January window.