Richarlison Omitted from Tottenham Squad: A Harsh Reality
Richarlison has gone from leading the line to falling off the page entirely.
Tottenham Hotspur’s official Premier League squad list dropped with one name conspicuously missing: last season’s top scorer. Eleven goals in 32 league games have not been enough to earn Richarlison a place in Roberto De Zerbi’s plans, at least not on paper. At 29, the Brazilian now stands outside the squad and, for the moment, outside the project.
What makes the omission even starker is who did make the cut. Injured players like Simons and Odobert are in. Richarlison is out. No compromise, no halfway house. Just a clean break.
De Zerbi, never shy when a microphone appears, did not try to sugar-coat the situation, but he did push the responsibility upstairs.
“It was not my decision. It is the normal decision,” he said, framing the outcome as the logical end to a summer-long standoff. “I think Richarlison, he decided everything alone. He spoke with me at the beginning of the pre-season and told me his idea and desire was to leave.”
That conversation set the tone for everything that followed. Once a player makes it clear he wants out, De Zerbi rarely turns back. Tottenham moved to “bring another striker in,” the coach explained, and the dominoes started to fall. The message from the Italian has been consistent since he walked through the door: if you do not burn to play for the club, you do not stay in his dressing room.
“I want to keep the players, just the players that want to stay and be proud and with the right passion to stay here,” he said. There was no hint of regret in his voice, only a firm line being drawn.
De Zerbi also made it plain that the final call on registration belongs to the club’s hierarchy, not the man in the dugout. “Then for everything and other problems, it is not my business and not my job. It is the responsibility of the club. I can’t say nothing because I didn’t decide anything.”
Yet the coach’s stance on Richarlison’s attitude has clearly fed into the outcome. “The message of Richarlison from the beginning of the season has been very clear. I accepted that and for me there is nothing to say.” In other words: the player wanted out, the club planned accordingly, and now there is no room left.
The fall has been swift. Richarlison started the opening game of the campaign against Brentford, still seemingly part of the core. Since then, the landscape has shifted around him. Omar Marmoush has arrived from Manchester City. Mykhailo Mudryk has come in on loan from Chelsea. Savio has joined from City as well. Each new signing nudged him further down the pecking order. Eventually, he slipped off the list altogether.
This is not just about tactics or depth charts. It is about De Zerbi’s footballing creed. He wants a squad built on harmony, intensity, and what he calls “hungry” players — footballers who fight for minutes yet remain content to stay and scrap for the badge.
“If you don’t want to stay here, I don’t want to keep talking in the press conference. Go out – you have the freedom to go out,” he said, cutting through the usual diplomatic language. “If you don’t want to stay, why do we have to keep you on the list? Why do you have to stay?”
He underlined his role in the hierarchy with a pointed reminder. “I’m not Vinai, I’m not the sporting director, I am the coach and I would like to work with the people hungry if they don’t play but happy to stay in this club.”
The message is ruthless but clear. At Tottenham under De Zerbi, talent alone is no longer enough. Desire decides everything.
For Richarlison, once the man carrying Spurs’ goalscoring burden, the question now is simple and brutal: where does he go from here?
