Conte Calls Richarlison ‘Selfish,’ Tottenham Players ‘Soft’

Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 8, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 8, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte. (Reuters)
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Conte Calls Richarlison ‘Selfish,’ Tottenham Players ‘Soft’

Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 8, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - March 8, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte. (Reuters)

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte described Richarlison as “selfish” for complaining about his lack of playing time and said Friday the Brazil striker was correct to assess his season so far as “not good.”

In his first year at the London club, Richarlison has played just 661 minutes in the Premier League — starting seven of Tottenham's 26 games — and has yet to score in the competition.

His only goals have come in the Champions League, which Tottenham exited on Wednesday after a meek 0-0 home draw with AC Milan that earned the Italian team a 1-0 win on aggregate in the round of 16.

After that game, Richarlison — Brazil's starting striker at the World Cup — gave an interview in which he used an expletive to describe his season and hit out at Conte’s selection policy, saying “there hasn’t been enough minutes given to me.”

“He scored zero goals with us — only two in the Champions League,” Conte said at a news conference ahead of a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. “I think the guy was really honest to tell his season is not good.

“Our season is still not finished. He has the time to recover. If he deserves to play, I give him the opportunity. Otherwise we play another player.”

Conte said he watched the interview involving Richarlison and was struck by how often the striker spoke about himself and not about the team.

“When u speak with ‘I,’ ‘I,’ ‘I,’ and not with ‘us,’ it means you are thinking only for yourself and that you are selfish,” Conte said.

“I repeat to my players, if you want to win something important, if you want to try to fight for something important, be competitive and win a trophy, you need to speak with ‘we’ and not ‘I.’”

Conte was in a feisty mood, two days after Tottenham’s chances of winning a trophy this season effectively came to an end because of the team’s Champions League elimination.

Tottenham was ousted from the FA Cup last week and is looking vulnerable in fourth place in the Premier League after a 1-0 loss at Wolverhampton on Saturday. Fifth-place Liverpool, which has collected 13 points from a possible 15 in its last five league matches, is three points behind and has a game in hand.

Conte has yet to commit to staying at Tottenham beyond this season, with his contract expiring in June, and spoke Friday of supporters appearing to lose patience with a club whose last trophy was in 2008.

“We are far from aspiring to be competitive and to fight to win,” he said. “We need time, we need patience. I see here the environment has no patience. Or maybe the environment doesn’t want to understand the reality.

“No one wants to understand this, and for sure I don’t speak about my future because the club knows very well what my situation is, what my thoughts are.”

Conte also criticized his players’ mentality.

“I have good guys but sometimes it is not enough to be a good guy,” he said. “You have to show the right desire, to sacrifice yourself, to fight to win the game, to win the duels, to be nasty.

“Sometimes, we are a bit soft.”



Red Bull: Longtime F1 Team Principal Horner Released from Duties

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner attends a news conference at the Silverstone racetrack, ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner attends a news conference at the Silverstone racetrack, ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
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Red Bull: Longtime F1 Team Principal Horner Released from Duties

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner attends a news conference at the Silverstone racetrack, ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner attends a news conference at the Silverstone racetrack, ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull said Wednesday that Christian Horner has been released from his role as longtime team principal of its Formula 1 team.

Red Bull did not give a reason for the decision in a statement, but thanked Horner for his work and said he will “forever remain an important part of our team history.”

Laurent Mekies of sister team Racing Bulls will replace Horner in his role as team principal and chief executive of the racing team.

Horner had been Red Bull team principal since it entered F1 as a full constructor in 2005. He had performed his team and media duties as normal throughout the British Grand Prix last week.

Horner oversaw eight F1 drivers’ titles — four for Sebastian Vettel and four for Max Verstappen — and six constructors’ titles during his time with the team.

But McLaren has dominated this season in F1, while Red Bull’s performance has dipped, though Verstappen remains third in the standings and the team is fourth.

Horner spent much of last week fielding questions over Verstappen’s future at the team after the Dutch driver declined to commit to stay with Red Bull for 2026.

“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,” Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s chief executive for corporate projects and investments said in a statement.

“With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”

The announcement comes more than a year after Horner was accused of misconduct toward a team employee.

An investigation conducted on behalf of the Red Bull company dismissed the allegation, as did a further investigation conducted after the employee appealed against the initial ruling, Red Bull said at the time.

Horner remained in charge of the F1 team throughout the entire process.