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)
TT
20

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.”



Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
TT
20

Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)

Joao Pedro marked his first Chelsea start in spectacular fashion on Tuesday, scoring twice to fire the Premier League side into the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over his boyhood club Fluminense.

The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for 60 million pounds ($81.5 million) last week, curled home a fabulous strike in the 18th minute before sealing the win with a brilliant finish following a counter-attack early in the second half.

Chelsea will face Real Madrid or Paris St Germain, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday, in Sunday's final.

"I’m pleased about everything, to be honest. It's a great achievement," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told DAZN.

"It's been a fantastic season. To finish top four in the Premier League, win the Conference League title, now in the final in the Club World Cup. We are so, so, so happy.

"We knew with Joao Pedro that we have a player that is able to do what he has just done."

The semi-final took place in brutal conditions in New Jersey, with an afternoon kickoff in scorching heat that prompted a National Weather Service warning. Temperatures soared past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54% humidity.

Chelsea started the game in control against a Fluminense side who adopted a conservative approach, with a deep five-men defense, inviting their rivals to hold possession and trying to counter attack.

The English side struggled to find their way through against Fluminense’s defensive block, but they broke the deadlock in the 18th minute thanks to Joao Pedro's shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net.

The Brazilian refused to celebrate his goal, a gesture of respect for Fluminense, where he came through the academy before making his professional debut as a 17-year-old. His journey took him to Watford in 2019 and Brighton in 2023 before joining Chelsea.

Fluminense, who stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan in the last 16 and Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals, nearly equalized when Hercules burst unmarked into the box following a slick one-two with German Cano, only for Marc Cucurella's goalline clearance to preserve Chelsea's lead.

The Brazilian side thought they had earned a lifeline when referee Francois Letexier awarded a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's handball, but VAR overturned the decision.

Just as Fluminense appeared to be building momentum in the second half, Pedro delivered the knockout blow in the 56th minute, taking a fine pass by Enzo Fernandez before dribbling past Ignacio and smashing in an unstoppable shot off the underside of the crossbar.