09 July 2023 , 07:16
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Richarlison has laid bare just how fractious his relationship was with former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte.
Conte left Spurs under a cloud in March after his position became untenable following one too many rants. After drawing 3-3 with Southampton he branded his players “selfish” and suggested there was a rotten culture holding the team back.
That came after a goalless draw at home to AC Milan saw them knocked out of the Champions League in meek fashion. Following that match, Richarlison gave an explosive post-match interview in which he branded his situation “s***” and complained about his lack of game time.
Conte called the Brazilian striker “selfish”, but his overall response in a press conference was fairly measured. It seems that the fiery Italian manager reserved a much bigger dressing down for behind closed doors though.
Richarlison told the Que Papinho podcast: “I made a mistake for doing an interview saying I needed [game] time.
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“Later on, I apologised and said that he could punish me. He told me off to show he was the boss. It's his way to deal with it – almost two hours scolding me in front of everybody there.”
Conte is known to be a hard taskmaster and Richarlison’s revelation hardly comes as a surprise, particularly given the toxic nature of his final days in charge of the club. Richarlison struggled with injuries last season following a £60million move from Everton last summer and became a lightning rod for criticism.
Richarlison has scored one Premier League goal for Tottenham (Getty Images)He contributed just three goals and four assists in 35 appearances across all competitions in the 2022/23 season and has since been linked with a summer transfer. His close relationship with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti sparked speculation he could replace Karim Benzema in Spain.
"Real Madrid links? Of course, every player wants to wear the shirt of Real Madrid," he told reporters last month. "It's the biggest club in the world. But I have a club, a contract, I have to prove why they bought me for a high price. It was a bad season for me, also due to injuries that I had at Tottenham.
“But it’s a dream, a dream of every player to wear Real’s shirt. But I still have to deliver wearing Tottenham’s shirt.”
Richarlison was far from the only Spurs player to be criticised by Conte. "I see selfish players, I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart [in]," he said in his rant before the sack in March. "I see only 11 players that play for themselves.
"Why is it happening? Because they are used to it here, they are used to it. They don't play for something important, yeah. They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. It is easy in this way."