Richarlison's social media jab underlines Roberto De Zerbi's cup snub

Tottenham forward Richarlison Andrade has publicly criticised manager Roberto De Zerbi after being omitted from the club’s Premier League squad and left out of the Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool, a decision announced on 14 September 2026.

The Brazilian striker remains eligible for domestic cup competitions, but the 25‑man Premier League list submitted earlier this month does not include his name.

Spurs have failed to find the net in their first four Premier League matches this season, an embarrassment compounded by the fact that Richarlison finished last season as the club’s top scorer with twelve goals.

Roberto De Zerbi insisted his project remains unchanged, saying, "Nothing changes in my project, in my idea. I am sorry for the goals we didn’t score, but we have the qualities to score goals. We are building a new project, a new team."

De Zerbi also revealed he took his players out for dinner at the Mayfair restaurant Bacchanalia after the Sunderland defeat, paying the bill himself and describing the outing as "something to eat, some water, some beers".

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Richarlison’s social‑media response

In reply to De Zerbi’s comments, Richarlison posted a crying‑face emoji on X and shared a screenshot on Instagram with the caption "Why" followed by another crying emoji.

His reaction follows a turbulent summer in which a move to Everton collapsed, links to Trabzonspor fell through and personal terms with his boyhood club Vasco da Gama were rejected on Friday.

Squad dynamics ahead of the Liverpool clash

De Zerbi confirmed that midfielder Sandro Tonali is unavailable after a knock, and defender Pedro Porro will also miss the mid‑week trip to Anfield.

He added that other options such as Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel, JP van Hecke and van de Ven are being considered, and expressed a desire to progress deep in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.

The story was reported by MATT BARLOW, FOOTBALL WRITER and LEWIS BROWNING.

The word Ven appears in the source material.