Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison has taken aim at manager Roberto De Zerbi after the Spurs boss confirmed he will not call him up for the club's Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool.
The forward has already been left out of Tottenham's Premier League squad this season, but was available for selection in the League Cup. De Zerbi has chosen not to use him.
Spurs have failed to score in their first four Premier League games this season, a run made more striking by the omission of Richarlison, who was the club's top scorer last season with 12 goals.
De Zerbi defends his selection
"Nothing changes in my project, in my idea," De Zerbi said. "I am sorry for the goals we didn't score, but we have the qualities to score goals."
"We are building a new project, a new team. I can't change my opinion about the players if they don't win or don't score. They are very good players."
"If we want to change from the last two seasons, we have to be stronger and believe in the quality of the players and the decisions we made one month ago. You can change players or change coaches, change, change, change, and nothing changes. Or you stay humble, with the right spirit to work."
"I believe in my players. I hope they believe in themselves like I believe in them," De Zerbi added.
Richarlison responds on social media
Richarlison hit back on Instagram, replying to a post on X about De Zerbi's comments with a crying emoji. He then shared a screenshot of that post to his own Instagram, captioning it "Why" alongside another crying emoji.
Richarlison started the league opener at Brentford, but was told he could leave the club before a move to Everton collapsed. Links to Turkish side Trabzonspor also failed to turn into a transfer.
After he did not agree personal terms with boyhood club Vasco da Gama on Friday, 12 September 2026, Richarlison was in attendance for Spurs' goalless draw with Everton, but remains sidelined from the squad. Tottenham Hotspur are a Premier League club based in north London, and the Carabao Cup, sponsored by the South Korean drinks brand, is England's secondary domestic knockout competition alongside the FA Cup.
Dinner and injury news before Liverpool
De Zerbi, who will be without midfielder Sandro Tonali against Liverpool after he picked up a knock, took his players out to dinner last week, as he also did in April following a defeat at Sunderland in his first game in charge. The squad returned to the Mediterranean restaurant Bacchanalia in Mayfair, with the Spurs boss picking up the bill.
"Something to eat, some water, some beers," De Zerbi said. "It is a pleasure."
De Zerbi also reviewed the opening half hour of Saturday's 0-0 draw with Everton to explain why his side could not convert their early dominance into goals.
"We played 25-30 minutes very well," he said. "We could have scored two. We maybe lost confidence because we didn't score. We have to improve."
Richarlison, who asked to leave Tottenham in the summer and then failed to agree terms with Everton, Trabzonspor or Vasco da Gama, remains out in the cold at the club.
"We lost at Brentford 3-0 [on the opening day] with Richarlison," De Zerbi added. "Maybe you forgot. Just to remind you."
