Richarlison's Transfer to Vasco da Gama Falls Through

Richarlison’s proposed return to Brazil has collapsed, leaving the forward in limbo at Tottenham and frozen out of the Premier League picture until at least January.

The Brazil international had been in talks over a move to boyhood club Vasco da Gama, but the deal is now off after he failed to agree personal terms, the Press Association understands. Vasco had reached an agreement with Spurs over a fee on Friday, only for negotiations with the player to break down before Brazil’s transfer window shuts on Saturday.

So he stays. But he can’t play.

Tottenham had already made their position brutally clear. Before the English window closed, Richarlison was told he was not part of the first-team plans for this season. That message was underlined last week when he was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad.

From there, his options rapidly narrowed. A late move back to Everton fell through before the September 1 deadline. The windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia then closed on Friday and Sunday, removing two more escape routes. With Spurs having already filled their six overseas loan slots, a permanent transfer to Brazil looked like one of the last realistic exits.

For a moment, Vasco offered a way home. It has not materialised.

De Zerbi: ‘He decided everything alone’

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi did start Richarlison in Tottenham’s Premier League opener at Brentford on August 22, but the relationship has unravelled quickly.

Speaking on Friday, after the striker’s omission from the league squad, De Zerbi pointed firmly to the player’s own choices.

“He decided everything alone,” the Italian said, when asked about Richarlison’s situation.

Pressed again for an update, De Zerbi added: “I don’t know. It’s not my job. What I can say is I know very well what the club has done for Richarlison and I know very well what Richarlison has done for the club in the last month, two months.

I know, the club knows, he knows, his agent knows. Everyone knows better than you.”

Behind the scenes, Richarlison has reportedly been exploring whether the final nine months of his contract at Spurs could be terminated. For now, that too has gone nowhere.

From survival hero to outcast

The contrast with last season is stark. Richarlison arrived from Everton in 2022 and hit 11 league goals in the previous campaign, playing a key role as Tottenham avoided relegation. De Zerbi stressed that contribution has not been forgotten, but insisted the last 45 days have shaped this outcome.

“I’m sorry because I have one player less on the list,” he said.

“Richarlison is a good guy, a very good guy. I spoke with him a lot of times and I spent time to convince him to stay, but if you ask me, I know the truth.

I know what happened in the last month, the last 45 days and it’s clear, but I’m not frustrated.

If I had decided myself to leave him outside of the squad, I would have regrets, but the decision has not even been taken by the club. It has been a consequence of what I told you already that he has decided by his own.”

De Zerbi did not hide his disappointment at how the saga has unfolded.

“I’m sorry because it could be different. Even the end of the story, but a different way, I think.

It could have been better, or it was much better Richarlison inside of the list, Richarlison happy to stay, maybe to extend his contract, because he is still an important player.

He was important last season, we can’t forget, but we can’t forget also the last 45 days.”

For now, Richarlison remains a Tottenham player who cannot play Premier League football, a forward in exile at his own club, waiting to see what January brings.