"Thanks Duncan Ferguson, you are right." Richarlison posted that on Instagram Stories on Saturday after Ferguson said Spurs would only leave a player out if there had been a serious internal fallout. The reply pushed the story beyond a private selection issue and made it a public dispute around Tottenham's handling of the forward.

Richarlison's public response

Ferguson had told standard.co.uk: "You don’t leave a player like that out unless there’s been a real murder: he’s chinned him or there’s been a proper scrap on the training ground." Richarlison's response was brief, but it gave that theory a visible boost.

The forward has been exiled from Tottenham's first-team picture this season after a failed summer move to Vasco da Gama. He also made a shock competitive appearance for Tottenham's Under-21 side against Cheltenham in the EFL Trophy, scoring in a 2-2 draw and again in the shootout before Spurs lost 7-6.

The numbers around him show how marginal he has become. Richarlison has only 5 Premier League appearances and 400 league minutes, which is a long way from a regular role. His average rating of 6.72 across those five games is steady rather than standout.

Tottenham's run and De Zerbi's response

The wider Tottenham situation is ugly enough without the social media noise. Spurs are bottom of the Premier League with 3 points from 6 matches, have scored 3 goals and conceded 9, and the attack has been under pressure regardless of the Richarlison row.

Roberto De Zerbi has not leaned into the story. He said: "It's not my problem anymore. You have to ask Vinai (Venkatesham, CEO) or Johan (Lange, technical director). It's not my problem." He added that his focus was on the Coventry game.

Tottenham's home match against Coventry on Monday night gives the club little room to keep the matter in the background. Spurs still have Oxford next month in the competition, so Richarlison's next competitive minutes may still come away from the senior side.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →