LONDON, United Kingdom, Mar 9 – Brazilian striker Richarlison has vented his frustration after Tottenham boss Antonio Conte dropped him for no apparent reason.
He signed in the summer for £60million from Everton but has endured a frustrating time in north London, having suffered from injuries and also spending the majority of the campaign on the bench.
He was a substitute again in the limp 0-0 draw with AC Milan on Wednesday night, which saw his side dumped out of the last-16 tie.
And in an explosive interview after the game, where he came on in the 70th minute, he hit out at Conte for his selection policy having been dropped in recent games following a short spell in the team.
“I didn’t understand… I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham and suddenly I was on the bench,” he said.
“I played five minutes against Wolves, asked the reason and no one told me why. Yesterday they asked me to take a fitness test in the gym and told me I was going to start today if I passed it.
“And today I was on the bench, there are things I can’t understand. There was no explanation again, let’s see what he (Conte) will tell us tomorrow but I’m not silly, I’m a professional that works hard every day and I want to play.
“There hasn’t been enough minutes given to me, this season – and forgive my language – has been s***. I don’t have enough minutes, was injured for a bit, but when I’m on the pitch I give my life.
“I played well in two games, especially against Chelsea, so I think I should have played tonight, but I can’t go on crying about it now.”
The 25-year-old has played just 661 minutes in the Premier League, having started only seven times, and is yet to score.
He says he has not yet started paying back his hefty fee and will wait to see whether he will be given a chance against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
“We have around 15 games to play now and the focus is that,” he said. “I’ll try to score as many goals as I can because the club has paid a lot of money for me and I haven’t given enough back on the pitch yet.
“Fair to say my injuries didn’t help and I haven’t had enough minutes. But now I’ll go home, rest, train tomorrow and see if he’ll put me in the first XI next game.”
