Michail Antonio has been told Spurs star won’t shake his hand this season

West Ham forward, Michail Antonio, has been told by his Hammers teammate Lucas Paqueta that he should expect a frosty reception from Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison when the two sides meet this season.

Last season was a difficult one for Tottenham, and in particular Richarlison, who struggled to have the desired impact in his first campaign for the North London side.

A £60m signing from Everton (BBC), Richarlison only registered three goals all season for Spurs last year (Transfermarkt). The Brazilian even had to wait until April to bag his first Premier League goal for the Lilywhites.

That goal could have come a lot sooner, however, had VAR not got in his way. Richarlison had put the ball in the back of the net on numerous occasions throughout the season, but the attacker saw his efforts chalked off for offside three times.

The situation led to a very public mocking from both Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson on The Footballer’s Football podcast. The West Ham and Newcastle United stars joked about Richarlison being close to a suspension for taking his top off, despite only having scored one goal.

Richarlison doesn’t plan to shake Antonio’s hand

Now, in a new instalment of the podcast, Antonio claims his West Ham teammate, Lucas Paqueta, has warned him that his fellow Brazilian, Richarlison, will not be pleased to see him when Spurs take on the Hammers this season.

Antonio said: “I am no longer commenting on Richarlison. It’s got to the stage where I feel that some people are a little touchy.

“I am not going to talk about the person that is in that position. I am just going to say that Tottenham need a striker. I will leave it at that – It’s banter. We banter with each other.

“I have gone to Paqueta. They play with each other. I have said ‘What’s wrong with your boy? It’s a bit of banter. I don’t understand why he is taking it so personally’, to the stage where his manager has to talk.

“Lucas is like ‘It’s just how he is. I told him that’s how you are. But he says ‘no, no, no. When we play against them. I am not going to shake his hand.'”

Spurs Web Opinion

However Richarlison chooses to act in this situation is his prerogative, but I just hope he uses Antonio’s comments as motivation rather than losing his composure and doing something rash. Let’s hope he can bag a goal against West Ham and silence the critics there.