Richarlison's Frustration Over Carabao Cup Omission
Richarlison’s one-word question cuts through the usual dressing-room diplomacy.
“Why?”
The Tottenham forward posted the message, alongside a tearful emoji, on social media after discovering he had been left out of Roberto De Zerbi’s squad for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool. No explanation, no soft landing. Just a public challenge to his manager’s call.
For a player already standing on uncertain ground in north London, it felt like another jolt in a turbulent few weeks.
A move that never materialised
Richarlison’s omission comes hard on the heels of a collapsed return to Brazil. Vasco da Gama pushed to take the 29-year-old back home and, according to sources, agreed a fee with Spurs. The framework was there, the route seemingly clear.
Then it stalled.
Personal terms were not finalised before the Brazilian transfer window shut on Friday. The door closed, leaving Richarlison still a Tottenham player, but not one fully embedded in De Zerbi’s plans.
His reaction to being left out of a domestic cup squad, a competition often used to offer minutes and mend fences, suggests the frustration has been building for some time.
De Zerbi draws his line
If Richarlison’s post was blunt, De Zerbi’s response was colder – and just as revealing.
“At the start of this season, I spoke to him many times to convince him to stay and he didn't want to,” the Spurs head coach said in his pre-match press conference.
“I can't go every day to pray for him to stay.
“What I have done at the beginning of this season has been to speak with him and to propose an extension of the contract. If he said, 'no thank you,' I finished my job.”
That is a manager publicly stepping back. No olive branch, no suggestion of a misunderstanding. De Zerbi made it clear he tried to secure Richarlison’s commitment, felt rebuffed, and moved on.
The Italian then hinted at deeper issues behind the scenes.
“I know what happened in the last 45 days. It's not right if I explained. It's not my behaviour. The relationship, the problem is between the player and the club.”
So the rift is not just tactical or about selection. It sits in the space between player and hierarchy, with the head coach choosing to stand to one side.
A future hanging in the balance
For Tottenham, this is now a live situation, not a quiet subplot. A senior Brazil international, once a marquee signing, has gone public with his discontent on the eve of a high-profile cup tie. His manager, in turn, has underlined that the bond of trust has frayed.
The Vasco move showed there is interest and that Spurs are willing to negotiate. The failure to agree personal terms showed Richarlison still values his position and worth. Something has to give.
He remains in north London for now, under contract but outside the squad and, by the manager’s own words, outside the inner circle. January is not far away.
If this was just about one cup tie, the story would end with a team sheet. It doesn’t. It now hangs over Tottenham’s season: can a fractured relationship be repaired, or is this simply the prelude to a permanent goodbye?
