De Zerbi insists he wanted Richarlison to stay at Tottenham – but says Brazilian’s desire to leave has led to current situation | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi says Richarlison’s omission from Tottenham’s Premier League squad was a consequence of the player’s own decision after revealing he had tried to convince the striker to stay.

Richarlison has been left out of Spurs’ squad list for the Premier League, but De Zerbi insisted he has no regrets over the decision because he did not instigate it.

“If I had decided on my own to leave him out of the squad, I would have regrets,” De Zerbi said. “But the decision has not been taken by the club. It has been a consequence of what I told you already last week, that he has decided.”

De Zerbi refused to reveal the full details behind the situation but suggested Richarlison’s actions over the past 45 days had ultimately led to his omission.

“Richarlison is a good guy, very good guy,” he said. “I spoke with him a lot of times and I spent time to convince him to stay.

“But if you ask me, I know the truth. I know what happened in the last month, in the last 45 days. And it’s clear.”

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The Spurs boss added that he would have preferred a different outcome.

“I’m sorry because it could be different,” he said. “Even the end of the story, but in a different way, I think, would have been better.

“It was much better with Richarlison on the list, if Richarlison was happy to stay, maybe to extend his contract, because he’s still an important player.

“He was important last season. We can’t forget, but we can’t forget also the last 45 days.”

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