Richarlison is looking to help people in Brazil learn the English language, with the Tottenham Hotspur star donating over £300,000 to two organisations in his home country to improve the quality of teaching.
The 26-year-old has been in England since August 2017, when he arrived at Watford from Brazilian side Fluminense.
Since then, Richarlison has gone on to achieve cult status at Everton after keeping them in the Premier League, and has now earned the affection of the Tottenham fans.
Joining Spurs for a reported £60m last summer (BBC), many assumed Richarlison would provide the cover and competition needed to push the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
However, things did not go to plan for Richarlison in a difficult first season for the Lilywhites.
The Brazil star netted just three goals for Spurs across the campaign, and had to wait until April to score his first league goal for his new club (Transfermarkt).
However, it is thought that with Kane gone, and Ange Postecoglou to guide him, Richarlison could flourish this season.
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Richarlison knows how hard it is to move to England
While Richarlison often receives criticism for his performances and his on-field persona, little is said about his benevolent acts off the pitch. Now, it is revealed by Globo that the Spurs man is donating around £316,000 to fund English language courses in his home country.
Richarlison’s donation will help both the Nova Venécia Association, in his hometown of Espírito Santo, and the Gerando Falcões institute in Sao Paulo.
On the importance of his donation, Richarlison said: “I know that taking an English course is fundamental and not everyone is able to pay for classes. Therefore, I asked for part of my fee to be paid in donations and Open English (a partner company) liked the idea.
“I’ve always studied in a public school, and the English classes were very basic, you can’t learn enough for everyday life here in England.
“For this reason, especially in the first two years, I suffered a lot to understand what was being said to me and to communicate. I was lucky to always have other Brazilians to help me when I needed it, but we end up losing autonomy.
“I am very happy because, in addition to continuing to learn with the course, I will be able to offer the study of a new language to many underprivileged Brazilians.
“I know that it makes a lot of difference, not only for them to get a good job, but mainly so that they don’t go through the same difficulties that I went through.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Richarlison gets such a bad rap, but by all accounts, he is a really nice guy and someone all his teammates love to be around. His charity work goes under the radar, too, which I guess is the point of these kinds of selfless acts, but I do wish more people gave him the respect he deserves.
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