Tottenham Prepare for Liverpool Clash With New Chapter in Ugly Feud

Roberto De Zerbi’s spat with Richarlison has emerged as an unwanted distraction for Tottenham Hotspur, who are still scoreless in the Premier League through four matches in 2026–27.

The Lilywhites entered De Zerbi’s first full season in charge with lofty expectations off the back of a summer transfer window in which they spent more than $423.9 million (£302 million) on 10 new signings, including a club-record $133 million (£100 million) purchase of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United.

While a ’gelling-in’ process is necessary, Spurs’ incompetence in the final third, despite the additions of Omar Marmoush and Sávio from Manchester City, has emerged as a serious area of concern for De Zerbi. Spurs haven’t merely failed to score, but they also rank 19th in the division with 3.45 expected goals, per Opta.

They’re struggling to generate high-quality chances and failing to seize the few opportunities that have come their way, with their collective confidence in front of goal on the floor. The absence of a natural goal-getter, especially given Dominic Solanke’s form this calendar year, is hurting them, which makes De Zerbi’s feud with Richarlison all the more curious.

Richarlison Offers Social Media Response to Latest De Zerbi Jibe

Richarlison, Sávio — Richarlison’s Spurs career is surely over. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

De Zerbi’s relationship with Richarlison has drastically deteriorated over the past couple of weeks. The Brazilian hasn’t been used by the Tottenham manager since he started at Brentford on the opening weekend of the season, which De Zerbi attributes to the striker wanting to leave the club.

"Richarlison decided everything alone," De Zerbi said on Sept. 4, after the Premier League’s transfer deadline. "I want to keep only the players who want to stay with pride and the right passion to stay here."

Richarlison was close to returning to Everton late in the summer window, then Spurs rejected offers from Trabzonspor before the Turkish Süper Lig deadline. A move to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama also fell through, and the situation could yet turn even messier, with the player threatening legal action in a bid to cancel his contract.

De Zerbi left him off of Spurs’ Premier League roster, submitted just after the summer transfer window closed, and it seems as if there’s no way back for the Brazilian in north London.

The 29-year-old is eligible to feature in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round tie at Liverpool, but De Zerbi asserted that Richarlison won’t play even if he’s available. Responding to a Fabrizio Romano post reporting his manager’s comments, Richarlison wrote: "Why?" on his Instagram story, accompanied by a rather despondent emoji.

While the Brazilian’s Spurs career has ultimately been underwhelming since joining in an $81 million (£60 million) deal from Everton in the summer of 2022, Richarlison’s 11 Premier League goals helped the Lilywhites preserve their top-flight status last season.

It’s a sorry way for Richarlison to bow out.

De Zerbi’s History With Player Fallouts

Roberto De Zerbi, Mathys Tel — De Zerbi remonstrated with Mathys Tel after Saturday’s stalemate. | Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

De Zerbi publicly manifested his frustrations with one of Spurs’ goal-shy forwards immediately after Saturday’s goalless draw with Everton. He took to the field to offer Mathys Tel some coaching points about his body position, which the Frenchman seemingly didn’t take too kindly to.

The Italian downplayed the sequence, saying postmatch that he “loves” Tel, insisting there was “no problem” with their public discussion.

While a broken Spurs roster bought into De Zerbi’s hands-on approach during the back end of last season, it’s no coincidence that the 47-year-old hasn’t held down a single managerial role for more than three years throughout his career. He’s a combustible figure, and the very worst of De Zerbi was laid bare in Marseille.

There, he was accused of being “a real ass----” to Canadian international Ismaël Koné by national team manager Jesse Marsch, and a viral clip of De Zerbi berating the young midfielder certainly didn’t reflect well on the Italian.

Spurs’ current woes are bringing De Zerbi’s potential man-management failings to light, but there are two sides to the same coin. Others have spoken glowingly of De Zerbi, namely Kevin Prince-Boateng, who spent six months with him at Sassuolo and said of his former manager: “He’s like a real, real best friend, like a father to young players and he’s just the best on the field.”

An uptick in results will doubtless see the heat on De Zerbi cool, but Spurs desperately need a goalscorer to emerge from the abyss with Richarlison out of the picture.

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