Tottenham Hotspur forward, Richarlison, has hit out at Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini for their treatment towards him over the past few weeks.
The Brazilian was once again named on the bench for Spurs in the Champions League last night, with the Lilywhites crashing out 1-0 on aggregate against AC Milan.
As has been the theme this season, Conte named a starting XI including Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, despite the latter two suffering from below-par form in 2023.
Richarlison was made to sit on the bench alongside Lucas Moura and Arnaut Danjuma until he was summoned for the final half an hour as Tottenham searched for a goal.
After the Champions League exit, Richarlison claimed that he didn’t understand why he had been dropped after positive games against West Ham and Chelsea.
He also labelled this season as a bad one for him and added that neither Conte nor Stellini had told him why he had been dropped back to the bench.
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He told ESPN Brazil (as translated by the Daily Mail): “That’s what I didn’t understand, too (being a substitute).
“It was going well, in a good sequence, two wins against West Ham and Chelsea.
“Suddenly, he (Cristian Stellini) put me on the bench, against Wolverhampton he put me on for five minutes. I asked why? They didn’t tell me anything.
“And, yesterday, they asked me to take a test at the gym, that if I was good I would go to the game and, at the time of the game, they left me on the bench.
“These are things that it is not possible to understand.
“Let’s see what he (Conte) will say tomorrow, but there are no fools here either, I’m a professional, I work every day and I want to play. There are minutes left, time left.
“This season, excuse the word, it’s been s***, because I don’t have minutes, I suffered a little with the injury.
“But, when I enter the field, I give my life. I came from two games well, I think that’s it, I think I should have played and I don’t have to cry about it.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I do agree that Conte has been guilty of trying the same old line ups time and time again despite players being out of form.
However, Richarlison fails to mention is woeful showing against Sheffield United, and the fact he struggled to even hold the ball up in his 30 minutes against AC Milan.
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