Brazilian forward Richarlison has criticised Tottenham Hotspur for not playing him enough, after their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Milan.
Despite starting 12 games and appearing as a substitute on 13 occasions, the player has managed just two goals for the club this season.
Richarlison, who played for Everton and Watford before joining Tottenham, said he had been told he would start against Milan if he passed a fitness test on Tuesday but had then found himself on the bench.
He said there had been broken promises and suggested frustration with head coach Antonio Conte.
The footballer, who came on as a substitute in the goalless draw with Milan on Wednesday, said he had played well in two recent games, against Chelsea and West Ham. He said he should have played against Milan and blamed the team’s failure to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on a lack of attacking play.
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Tottenham have Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Ivan Perisic vying for attacking places. However, Spurs have failed to score in three consecutive games for the first time since April-May 2019.
Richarlison said there had been no explanation for his lack of game time and that he had not been given enough minutes on the pitch this season.
“There is frustration, of course. We’re out of the biggest club competition. We can’t play like that, needing to score. The team had to play more offensively, especially in the second half.
“There’s not a lot to say now, we can’t go chasing someone to take the blame. Now there’s only the Premier League to play, a training session tomorrow and a match against [Nottingham] Forest in the next round.
“I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham, and suddenly I was on the bench. I played five minutes against Wolves, asked the reason and no one told me why.”
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Tottenham have now been eliminated from both the Champions League and the FA Cup, and their focus is on the Premier League.
Richarlison said he would try to score as many goals as he could in the remaining 15 games of the season.
“There are things I can’t understand. There was no explanation again,” he said.
“Let’s see what he will tell us tomorrow, but I’m not silly, I’m a professional that works hard every day and I want to play. There hasn’t been enough minutes given to me.
“This season, and forgive my language, has been s***. I don’t have enough minutes, was injured for a bit, but when I’m on the pitch I give my life.
“I played well in two games, especially against Chelsea, so I think I should have played tonight, but I can’t go on crying about it now.
“We have around 15 games to play now and the focus is that. I’ll try to score as many goals as I can because the club has paid a lot of money for me and I haven’t given enough back on the pitch yet.”
It is not yet known whether his criticism of Tottenham will impact his chances of playing more frequently.
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