Richarlison Omitted from Tottenham Squad as De Zerbi Prioritizes Commitment

Richarlison’s name used to sit near the top of every Tottenham teamsheet. Now it is missing from the one list that matters most.

When Spurs submitted their official Premier League squad, the club’s top scorer from last season – 11 goals in 32 league appearances – was nowhere to be seen. Not injured. Not suspended. Simply out.

Simons made it. Odobert made it. Both are sidelined but still considered part of the project. Richarlison, 29 and supposedly in his peak years, has been left in what amounts to professional limbo.

“He decided everything alone”

Roberto De Zerbi did not try to dress it up. Asked about the Brazilian’s omission, the Tottenham head coach made it clear where, in his eyes, the story really began.

“It was not my decision. It is the normal decision,” he said, laying the responsibility at the player’s door rather than the dugout. “I think Richarlison, he decided everything alone. He spoke with me at the beginning of the pre-season and told me his idea and desire was to leave.”

That conversation set the tone for the summer. Once the forward made it clear he wanted out, the club moved on. Literally.

“At the end we go to bring another striker in,” De Zerbi continued, underlining the consequence of that stance. “Like I said at the beginning of the pre-season, I want to keep the players, just the players that want to stay and be proud and with the right passion to stay here.”

For a coach who built his reputation at Brighton and Marseille on intense, collective buy-in, the message was unmistakable: the door is open, but it swings both ways.

Club call, clear message

De Zerbi also drew a firm line between coaching and governance. The final act – leaving Richarlison off the Premier League list – sits with the hierarchy, not with him.

“Then for everything and other problems, it is not my business and not my job. It is the responsibility of the club,” he said. “I can’t say nothing because I didn’t decide anything. The message of Richarlison from the beginning of the season has been very clear. I accepted that and for me there is nothing to say.”

Nothing to say, perhaps, but plenty implied. A player who starts the opening game of the campaign, away at Brentford, does not simply vanish from contention without a breakdown somewhere along the line.

New faces, new order

The sporting logic is obvious. Tottenham have retooled their attack. Omar Marmoush has arrived from Manchester City, Savio has joined from City as well, and Mykhailo Mudryk has come in on loan from Chelsea.

Three fresh forwards. Three new claims on minutes, on status, on trust.

With every signing, Richarlison’s leverage weakened. Once he made it clear he wanted to go, the new arrivals didn’t just add competition. They replaced him in the internal hierarchy. The player who once carried Spurs through lean spells now finds himself outside the group entirely.

De Zerbi’s non-negotiable

For De Zerbi, this is not just about numbers on a squad list. It is about mood. Energy. The temperature of the dressing room.

“If you don’t want to stay here, I don’t want to keep talking in the press conference,” he said, his irritation barely disguised. “Go out – you have the freedom to go out. If you don’t want to stay, why do we have to keep you on the list? Why do you have to stay?”

He spelled out his role, and his limits, in blunt terms. “I’m not Vinai, I’m not the sporting director, I am the coach and I would like to work with the people hungry if they don’t play but happy to stay in this club.”

That is the core of it. Hunger over reputation. Commitment over status. A coach who has watched enough dressing rooms fracture to know that one unhappy senior forward can tilt the balance.

So Richarlison, once the focal point of Tottenham’s attack, now stands on the outside looking in, his future uncertain, his Premier League season effectively paused before it has begun.

Tottenham, meanwhile, march on with those who chose to stay.