Tottenham Hotspur have made their position brutally clear. Richarlison is out.
The Brazilian forward has been left off Spurs’ 25-man Premier League squad for the season, a decisive call that underlines just how far he has slipped from Roberto De Zerbi’s plans. For a player who arrived in north London as a marquee signing and a World Cup starter, it is a stark, public demotion.
This is not a tactical tweak. It is a severing.
Reports in England say Richarlison had set his heart on a return to Everton in the final days of the transfer window, chasing the comfort of familiar surroundings and the form that once made him one of the league’s most combustible, effective forwards. The reunion never materialised. Talks never produced an agreement. The window shut, and he stayed put at Tottenham, a player under contract but effectively without a stage.
The timing could hardly be crueller for him. Only days ago, Richarlison spoke openly about how others have steered many of the major decisions in his career, a revealing admission from a 27-year-old who should be in his prime but instead feels like a passenger in his own story. Being cut from the Premier League list drives that feeling home. He is fit, he is available, yet he will not be involved.
De Zerbi’s stance leaves no room for interpretation. There is no role for Richarlison this season. No place on the bench. No late cameos to change a game. Tottenham move forward without him, and both player and club now scramble for a way out of a situation that already looks unsustainable.
The European window has closed, but his options have not completely vanished. Saudi Arabia and Turkey remain on the table, their markets still open and their clubs watching situations like this with interest. For Richarlison, they may represent escape routes as much as opportunities: a chance to reclaim minutes, relevance, and some control over a career that has drifted away from his hands.
For Spurs, a move to either destination would tidy up an awkward, expensive loose end and draw a line under a messy chapter. For Richarlison, it could be the difference between another lost season and the start of something resembling a revival.
