Richarlison to Vasco: the snag and why they want to pay Tottenham | OneFootball

​The excitement among the fans over a possible free release of Richarlison to Vasco runs up against a much harsher legal reality behind the scenes. As journalist Lucas Pedrosa explained, the idea that the 29-year-old striker could simply terminate his contract with Tottenham and arrive at São Januário at no cost is a dangerous myth. Although the player is no longer within the so-called Fifa protected period, since he has already completed three years of the deal signed in 2022, any forced breach of contract without an agreement could lead to a multimillion-dollar compensation claim if the courts find there was no just cause.

​In trying to force an exit both on the pitch and on paper, the center-forward has real reasons to be upset. The London club not only failed to register the player for the Premier League, but also banned him from first-team training and demoted him to work with the club’s Under-21 squad. This is not just a simple tactical choice to leave the player on the bench: it is a formal removal from professional activity, reinforced by the fact that the English board had previously turned down an offer worth around 20 million euros from Turkish football that would have resolved the striker’s future.

+ Vasco could sign Richarlison through a termination identical to Renan Lodi’s

?English defense and Roberto De Zerbi’s hard line

​The dispute has taken on the shape of a war because the English side has built a strong line of defense to avoid losing its investment. Spurs’ board claims that it was the goalscorer himself who caused the breakdown as early as preseason, a version publicly reinforced by coach Roberto De Zerbi, who confirmed that the player asked to be transferred and then turned down an agreed move back to Everton, justifying the arrival of another signing for the position and the decision to work only with players who want to represent the club with passion.

​Even with this tug-of-war unfolding in Europe, Cruzmaltino is protected from immediate sporting punishments. The historic battles fought by former midfielder Lassana Diarra against the world governing body’s transfer rules changed global guidelines, ensuring that the new club signing a player involved in a dispute is not punished jointly and automatically, unless it is proven that it induced the contract breach, a course of action Vasco’s board has never adopted.

?Time factor and Vasco board’s buying strategy

​The big problem for fans dreaming of an emergency court order is the clock. Any dispute of this magnitude before the international federation’s committees would take weeks or months to reach an initial outcome, which would run past the close of the transfer window in Brazil and leave the striker unable to play in the second half of the season. Faced with this huge risk, president Pedrinho and his team understood that entering into a legal adventure is the worst possible path.

​Vasco is keeping its financial offer firmly on the table for the British side and already has representatives ready to travel to London to settle the purchase face to face. The Rio club’s leadership wants to offer Richarlison a long four-year contract, with flexible exit clauses from 2027 onward in case offers from Europe arise, betting on friendly talks with Spurs to deliver the new No. 10 to the stands within the legal deadline.

Richarlison wants to play for Vasco – Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.