Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has responded to Spurs forward Richarlison’s alleged criticism of him after the north London side were knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan.
Richarlison was bought from Everton for £60 million last summer but has been restricted to limited minutes under Conte – much to the Brazilian’s annoyance.
Indeed, despite starring at the Qatar World Cup, the 25-year-old has not managed to displace wingers Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulesevski and was forced to watch on from the bench again on Wednesday night as Spurs mustered just two shots on target all game.
Speaking afterwards, Richarlison vented his frustrations in an explosive interview, where he appeared to slam his own manager.
“I was playing well, I was in good form, I had two wins against West Ham and Chelsea and all of a sudden he benched,” he said.
“Against Wolves, he played me for 5 minutes. I asked why and they didn’t tell me anything.
“Yesterday, he asked me to do a test at the training ground. He said if I did well he’d play me, and when the match came he benched me. These things are not understandable.”
Ahead of Spurs’ Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Conte has now addressed Richarlison’s interview and stressed that the Brazilian’s words were misinterpreted.
“First of all I watched the interview of Richarlison. He didn’t criticise me,” Conte said. “He said his season was s**t and he’s right. His season has not been good.
“He had injuries, played in the Champions League and then went to the World Cup and then had a serious injury. He’s scored no goals for us. I think he was really honest to say his season was not good. His season has not finished yet. If he deserves to play I’ll give him the opportunity.
“For the rest of the interview, I think he made a mistake. When you speak of ‘I’ and not ‘us’ you are being selfish. I say to my players, if we want to build something important and win a trophy, we have to speak with ‘we’ not with ‘I’, because otherwise you’re thinking of yourself.
“He made a mistake and he apologised and it was good for me to clarify with the team again about this. In this aspect we have to improve. We have to be more of a team and show more positive spirit, especially in negative moments.”
He added: “Sometimes it’s not enough to be a good guy. You have to show the right desire and fight to win the game and the duels, to be nasty. I think that sometimes we are a bit soft, but I’m the coach and I’m the first responsible for this to happen and it doesn’t happen every time.
“I have to improve the team and I have to improve the spirit of my team. It has always happened in the past and I hope it happens here.”
VIDEO: Antonio Conte responds to Richarlison
With Spurs now guaranteed to go another season trophyless, Conte’s position as manager has been called into question.
Yet, the Italian has clarified that he maintains a ‘good’ relationship with Tottenham owner Daniel Levy.
“In every interview you ask the same question and I have to give the same answer. I have a good relationship with the chairman,” he said.
Check out the clip below:
VIDEO: Conte says his relationship with Daniel Levy is strong
