Answer to critical statements
“I’ll be honest, this season sucked. I want to play. I did not understand it. I was in a positive moment and Conte put me back on the bench,” said a visibly angry Richarlison on Wednesday after his Tottenham Hotspur’s 0-0 draw against AC Milan, which meant they were eliminated from the Champions League round of 16. At a press conference on Friday, his coach Antonio Conte commented on the statements made by the 25-year-old Brazilian and, once again, on his own future.
“First of all, I saw Richarlison’s interview and he didn’t criticize me. He said his season was ‘shit’ and he’s right because his season isn’t good because he’s had a lot of injuries,” said the Italian (quoted via “The Guardians“) about the World Cup participant who was signed by Everton last summer for 58 million euros. Richarlison has not really found his feet in London so far. “He started well with us, then he had an injury, went to the World Cup and had another injury, a serious one, he came back and stayed away for a month,” Conte explained.
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So far, Richarlison has only added two goals and three assists in 25 competitive games for Tottenham. Conte became clear regarding the interpretations of the offensive player’s statements: “I think the man understood that he made a mistake, because when you talk about ‘I’, ‘I’ and ‘I’, not about ‘we’ …. Then it means that you only think about yourself and you are selfish.”
You can only be successful if it’s about “we” and not “I”, said the ex-professional. “He understood very well and apologized, which is good because it gave me the opportunity to show the spirit of the team once again.” Richarlison’s season is “not over yet. If he deserves to play, I will give him the opportunity.”
Antonio Conte on Tottenham Hotspur’s expiring contract
Conte also spoke once more about his own future, which was recently questioned even more in the English media after the premature end in the “premier class” than in the past few months. “You know we signed a contract with the club, a strange contract for a year and a half,” said the 53-year-old.
Conte continued: “Usually you sign for three years, but I think it was for the club and for me to understand the situation, to understand my personality, my ability as a coach and for me it was the same. To understand if we’re on the same wavelength. Now, after a year and a half, the club knows me, I know the club and the situation is clear. We have to finish the season and then we’ll see. The club knows my thoughts very well. I’m ready to die for this club by the end of the season.” But he was “not so stupid as to kill myself”.
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