Despite Tottenham yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, manager Roberto de Zerbi does not intend to give Brazil striker Richarlison a go in any further competition this season, even omitting the player from the EFL Cup squad which is set to take on Liverpool, after leaving him out from the EPL squad as well. Richarlison last played for Spurs in the August 22 Premier League match vs Brentford where they lost 3-0.

“At the start of this season, I spoke to him many times to convince him to stay and he didn’t want to. 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. 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,” de Zerbi said in a pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham’s EFL Cup match vs Liverpool.

“Richarlison will not play even if he’s available. Not even in the Carabao Cup, no,” de Zerbi added as per journalist Fabrizio Romano in a X post. Richarlison even posted a crying emoji as a reply in the aforementioned post.

😢

— Richarlison Andrade (@richarlison97) September 14, 2026

Richarlison failed to secure a late ⁠transfer to Vasco da Gama as well as Everton in the transfer deadline day after wanting to move away from Spurs.

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In early August, Richarlison had posted a long message on X, hinting at his situation at the club. “After everything I’ve been through in the last few years, I decided that NEVER AGAIN would anyone decide my future for me. I went through a lot of bad things during that time, and almost all of them happened because of decisions made by other people. Pressure, threats, retaliation—none of that scares me. I’ve been through worse things… believe me!,” he posted.

“I’ve always made it clear, at every opportunity, that any move of mine to another place would also have to be good for the club. If it wasn’t, I would never accept it… just like I didn’t accept it when everything here was falling apart and they needed me. I stayed and gave my life. So, I hope they treat my situation with the same respect that I’ve always had for the Spurs and for all the people who worked with me during this period. Just don’t try to decide for me,” he added.

Spurs have yet to score in four Premier League matches this season and have collected only two points, increasing scrutiny on De Zerbi after the club signed 10 new players ⁠in the ​close season. The weekend’s 0-0 draw against Everton extended Tottenham’s goal drought to four league matches, the longest scoreless start to a season in the club’s history.