After Being Left Out of Premier League Squad, Richarlison Considers Legal Action to End Tottenham Contract

A full week after being left out of Tottenham's 25-man Premier League squad for this season, Richarlison is considering taking legal action against the club in an attempt to cancel the remainder of his contract.

The Brazil international is currently in an awkward situation. Tottenham announced their 25-man Premier League squad for the season a week ago, and Richarlison was not included. Since then, efforts to find him a new club have not produced results.

Two close exits, both unsuccessful

According to the original report, Richarlison came close to returning to his former club Everton before the Premier League transfer window closed, but the two sides failed to agree on terms. He then attracted interest from Trabzonspor before the Turkish transfer window closed.

Two opportunities, two failures. In the final days of the English transfer window, Richarlison posted a series of meaningful messages on Instagram.

He wrote: "After everything I have been through over the past few years, I have decided that I will never let anyone decide my future for me again. I have experienced many bad things, and almost all of them happened because the decisions were made by other people. Pressure, threats, retaliation — none of these things scare me. I have been through much worse than this, believe me."

Manager's stance: He made all the decisions himself

De Zerbi included Richarlison in the squad for the opening match of the season against Brentford, but has not selected him since. Regarding Richarlison's situation, De Zerbi's position is clear: finding a solution is Richarlison's own responsibility.

"Richarlison decided everything by himself," De Zerbi said at last week's press conference. "He spoke with me at the start of pre-season and told me he wanted to leave. I only want to keep players who want to stay, who are proud to stay, and who stay here with the right enthusiasm."

Richarlison and his team are now exploring the possibility of taking legal action to cancel his remaining contract with Tottenham. The idea emerged after he was excluded from Tottenham's Premier League squad for the season.

One year left on contract, £50 million initial transfer fee

The contract Richarlison signed when he joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 has one year remaining. According to the original report, the initial transfer fee at the time was £50 million.

Under FIFA's updated Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, parties can theoretically terminate a contract if there is 'just cause.' 'Just cause' is defined as: 'any situation where one party can no longer reasonably and in good faith be expected to maintain the contractual relationship.'

The regulations also state that no club may 'abuse a player's registration or deregistration as a means of exerting pressure,' nor may it 'separate a player from team training in an abusive manner.'

In Brazil, local media have linked Richarlison with Vasco da Gama. If he is able to leave his Tottenham contract, he could join Vasco da Gama as a free agent and sign a short-term deal, with the club not needing to negotiate a transfer fee with Tottenham. The Brazilian transfer window will close at midnight local time on Saturday.