Richarlison has revealed he spent ‘all day’ with his club side Everton over whether he could represent Brazil at this summer’s Olympics.
The star of the Merseyside club has already had a busy season in England and has not had any rest so far this summer due to his participation for Brazil in the Copa America.
This week he was called up to represent his nation in this summer’s Olympic Games after Flamengo withdrew their forward Pedro from participating in the tournament.
Unlike any other international football, club sides are allowed to prevent their players from going to play in the Olympics - frequently leading to friction between clubs, players and the national teams.
That has been the case with Everton and their star over his participation in this summer’s games, which may leave him fatigued ahead of the club’s Premier League campaign getting underway in August.
The football will get underway at the Olympics in Japan on 21 July and the final will be held on 7 August, with Brazil - who won the competition in 2016 - among the favourites to win the gold medal.
Richarlison is quoted as saying by Brazilian media outlet UOL, via Sport Witness, after Friday’s match: “I fought there, right? I was arguing all day with Everton, with the manager.
“I also called the new coach. It’s very important for me to get this experience, to get more maturity because it will be important for me.
“When I heard the news that Everton released me, I came to the game even more happy to wear this shirt.
“Now, it’s about getting to the dressing room, celebrating with my teammates, because the game was very difficult too.”
Richarlison has a superb strike rate with Brazil, with whom he has scored 10 goals in 30 internationals including in the Copa America victory over Peru this summer.
He helped them to the Copa America title in 2019 and is hopeful of landing another victory in the tournament this summer.
He will join three other England-based players in the Brazil squad for the Olympics, which includes Arsenal duo Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes, while Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is also in the squad.
Whilst the majority of the squad are based in Brazil, Sevilla defender Diego Carlos and Lyon’s Bruno Guimaraes are also in the ranks.
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Brazil are one of 16 nations to be playing in the tournament and one of two South American countries - qualifying alongside their historic rivals Argentina.
Spain, Romania, Germany and France are the quartet of teams from Europe to qualify for the games.
They will be joined by hosts Japan, African trio Ivory Coast, Egypt and South Africa, along with New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Honduras, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Defending champions Brazil are in the same group as Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia - with the top two advancing through to the quarter final stage.
