Richarlison stranded at Tottenham after Vasco da Gama deal collapses over personal terms

Richarlison faces an uncertain few months at Tottenham after his proposed transfer to Vasco da Gama fell through on Friday, leaving the Brazilian forward unable to play in the Premier League for the remainder of the first half of the season.

Spurs had agreed a fee with the Rio de Janeiro club, but Richarlison failed to reach an agreement on personal terms before the Brazilian transfer window closed at 4.00am BST on Saturday. With Tottenham having already filled their six permitted overseas loan slots, a permanent move to Brazil had been one of the few remaining routes out of north London.

The situation has been building since before the English transfer window closed on 1 September. Tottenham made clear to Richarlison that he was not part of their first-team plans for the season, and a return to former club Everton failed to materialise before deadline day. He was subsequently left out of Spurs’ 25-man Premier League squad, and windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia also shut without a deal being struck.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who started Richarlison in the club’s league opener at Brentford on 22 August, offered a pointed assessment of the situation at his press conference on Friday. “I don’t know,” De Zerbi said when asked for an update. “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.”

De Zerbi had previously claimed the 29-year-old “decided everything alone” following his omission from the squad list — a comment that hinted at friction between the player and the club’s management.

Richarlison was also reportedly exploring whether the final nine months of his Spurs contract could be terminated early, though no resolution on that front has emerged. The Brazil international joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 and contributed 11 Premier League goals last season as the club avoided relegation.

With no eligible league football available to him until at least January, Richarlison now finds himself in an awkward limbo — contracted to a club that has publicly moved on from him, but with nowhere left to go for now.