Richarlison's Vasco Da Gama Move Stalls as Tottenham Refuses Release

Tottenham Hotspur have shut the door on Richarlison’s attempt to walk away from the club for nothing, leaving the Brazilian forward scrambling for a late escape route to Vasco Da Gama.

The 29-year-old has lurched from one failed move to another in the past fortnight. Spurs tried to move him on before the English window closed, using him as a makeweight in a proposed swap for Iliman Ndiaye. That plan collapsed when Richarlison couldn’t agree personal terms with Everton, and with it went Tottenham’s chance to land Ndiaye, who ended up at Manchester City. Roberto De Zerbi’s side instead turned to Mykhaylo Mudryk, taking the Chelsea winger on loan with an option to buy.

Since then, Richarlison has seen a switch to Trabzonspor fade away. His focus is now on a return home with Vasco Da Gama, the club he is pushing hard to join before Brazil’s summer window shuts on Friday night.

Brazil’s deadline is the clock he cannot stop. Reports on Thursday claimed Richarlison had already agreed terms with Vasco and was trying to engineer a contract cancellation at Spurs to smooth the move. That is where the fight has started.

According to BBC Sport, Richarlison and Tottenham are “in dispute over the remaining nine months of his contract”. The forward is said to be “exploring his options” and “keen to be released from his deal”. Tottenham’s stance is blunt: no free exit.

Talks between the club and the player’s representatives are ongoing and the situation has “escalated in recent days”, but Spurs see a line they will not cross. Richarlison wants an agreement that lets him walk away for nothing. Tottenham do not regard that as remotely realistic.

The contract details harden their position. Spurs hold a 12‑month option to extend Richarlison’s deal through to the end of next season, giving the club control beyond the current term. They are described as unwilling to negotiate a settlement on the remaining months, effectively blocking any attempt to rip up the agreement and leave on a free.

De Zerbi's Perspective

De Zerbi, who relied heavily on Richarlison last season, has already mentally moved on. The head coach revealed a telling conversation from the start of pre-season.

“At the beginning of pre-season I spoke to Richarlison and asked him if he wanted to extend his contract because I was happy to keep him with us,” De Zerbi said. “He didn’t want to. So, Richarlison is a good player, yes. He was important last season, yes, very important. He’s a good guy, yes. But in the end, I had to stop myself putting pressure on the players if the players show me they want to leave.

“I’m sorry for him, but we have to go to another page and work with Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush.”

That is the reality now. De Zerbi is building around Solanke and Marmoush, while Richarlison stands in limbo, locked in a contractual row with a club that has already started planning without him and racing against a Brazilian deadline that will not wait.