Richarlison has revealed details of his relationship with Antonio Conte, admitting that he confronted the former Tottenham Hotspur manager about his lack of gametime last season.
The Brazil international joined Tottenham for an initial £50m fee but largely struggled in front of goal during his maiden campaign at the club. Richarlison managed a measly one goal in 27 Premier League appearances in 2022/23 and largely failed to adapt to then-Tottenham manager Conte's tactical set-up.
Speaking on Desimpedidos, Richarlison and teammate Emerson Royal revealed how the striker's frustrations with Conte's tactics boiled over ahead of a game last season.
"[Richarlison] arrived late at the meeting on the day of the game, and the guy [Conte] said 'do you have something to say to the team? Do you want to apologise to the team?" Emerson explained. "He asked the other guys who had arrived late too, the guys said 'no, just sorry', then I don't know what got into [Richarlison].
"He was supposed to apologise to the group and to [Conte], right? Then he said 'ah, I think I need more minutes [of gametime]'. I think he understood it that the guy asked if he had anything, something to talk about, then he started saying that the formation we played in was [swears]. He said a couple of things."
"Richarlison continued the full-back's story, adding: "I came out saying everything that came to mind. 'I need more minutes', 'this formation is no good', 'I didn't adapt', 'this formation is [swears]'.
"I started talking, then the guys behind started laughing and I said what am I doing here? I didn't understand what he had asked, I started saying what I had already rehearsed."
Since Conte's departure and the arrival of Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, Richarlison's form in front of goal has drastically improved. Having scored just one Premier League goal last season, the Brazilian has already bagged ten in 22 appearances so far in 2023/24.
