Richarlison bid an emotional farewell to Everton a few years ago this week, but the controversial move still raises more questions than answers and it seems nobody was entirely happy with it.
Ahead of the one-year anniversary, this correspondent recently received a message from an old friend who is a Liverpool supporter asking me if I still thought Tottenham Hotspur had beaten Everton with a Richarlison fee. My answer was around £50m plus add-ons, a relatively modest figure in today’s overblown transfer market for a Brazilian number nine, but the Blues could potentially get more for him if the World Cup was in the summer as usual (he gave three goals), and if Spurs didn’t know how to use him properly, that’s their problem…
However, the Reds have always struggled to appreciate him, and after a war of words with Jamie Carragher, the former Kop Idol declared: “He’s just rooting for people, that lad, Richarlison.
He’s rooting for me.” Only since the Brazilian offered an olive branch in the form of an invitation to Carragher on the pitch for kick-off at the Etihad has the Reds’ old boy begun to see the former Blues ace in a new light.
Richarlison has always worn his heart on his sleeve and, along with his silky skills – something you’d expect from a striker from his country – his willingness to transplant has attracted the Evertons. From the moment of his debut with two goals at a rainy Molineux at the start of the 2018/19 season, it was love at first sight.
This was a player who rose to Olympic gold with Everton – he was also the tournament’s top scorer at the Tokyo Games – but even though he arrived at the club when they were thrashing Barcelona and then playing at Goodison Park under the great Carlo Ancelotti (incredibly, the generation gap between them ensured he was initially unaware the Italian was a world-class player in his own right before he began training), his final days with the Blues were spent battling relegation.
In that regard, Everton have failed because they have not been able to build a competitive team around the talent that can line up alongside Neymar and company when he leaves for international duty.
But he has at least left them with some parting gifts in the form of six goals in his last nine games, including a decisive winner at home to Chelsea at the start of the final month of the 2021/22 campaign.
As mentioned, there weren’t really any winners in Richarlison’s move to Tottenham, apart from Everton’s bean counters, as the deal was struck before the end of June to ensure the Blues’ financial statements were rosier, but it still isn’t. prevent you from nevertheless being considered a fraction of the profit and sustainability rules.
The deal for the boy, who rose from poverty on the streets of New Venice in Espirito Santo to become Walton’s lover, was struck by Everton chairman Bill Kenwright and Spurs colleague Daniel Levy over a table at Scott’s, a Mayfair seafood restaurant that sells caviar. and boasts an elegant oyster and champagne bar.
The now 27-year-old hasn’t exactly impressed in north London, however, and after scoring just once in 27 Premier League games in his first season, he now has 15 in 66 appearances in all competitions, compared to 53 in 152 appearances. for the wise.
Tottenham are said to be willing to listen to suitable offers this summer for Richarlison – who failed to make Brazil’s squad for the ongoing Copa America – but it seems unlikely that Everton will have the money to bring him back.
The player looked respectful or even apologetic as he scored twice for Spurs outside Gwladys Street on his first return to Goodison Park in a 2-2 draw on 3 February this year. He probably would have jumped at the chance to return for “The Grand Old Lady’s” historic final season, but the numbers just don’t seem to add up.