Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison made some harsh comments about their manager Antonio Conte after Tottenham Hotspur got eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
AC Milan booked their place in the UCL quarter-finals after pulling out a 0-0 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The English giants walked out of the tournament with a 1-0 scoreline on aggregate. After the match, Richarlison didn't mince with his words after the defeat.
"I'm a professional, I work every day and I want to play. I'm missing minutes, missing time," Richarlison, who came on as a substitute in the 70th minute, said post-match.
"Apologies for the word but this season is s--- because I don't have minutes, I suffered a bit from injury, too. I was on a good run, with two wins against West Ham and Chelsea, and suddenly he [Conte] put me on the bench. Against Wolves, he put me in five minutes. I asked why and they didn't tell me anything, Richarlison as quoted by ESPN.
The 25-year-old Brazilian forward has failed to make his place in the starting eleven throughout this season. With the likes of Harry Kane, Heung Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski already in the team, Richarlison has been more of a backup option. Richarlison revealed that he had a conversation about his starting place with Conte.
"[On Tuesday] I was asked to take a test at the gym. He [Conte] told me that, if I was good, I would go to the game. When it was game time, he put me on the bench. These are things you can't understand.
"When I enter the pitch, I give my life. I came from two good games, mainly against Chelsea, where I played the full 90 minutes, and we won the game. I guess I should have played [from the start against Milan]," Richarlison continued.
After losing against AC Milan Tottenham is now out of all the cup competitions. Spurs won their last trophy in 2008 and since then they have failed to win any major title. The only way Tottenham can end their 15 years of wait will be by lifting the Premier League trophy. However, in their current position, they will need a bit more than luck.
Spurs currently sit in the fourth position with 45 points and they are 18 points behind the top spot. They will play their next game against the 14th-place Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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