Tottenham striker Richarlison has denied claims that he will not play for Brazil at the World Cup as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
A post from X account Topskills Sports UK on Monday claimed that the Tottenham striker had removed himself from contention for the summer tournament until joint-hosts United States ended their escalating conflict with Iran.
The US and Israel began attacking targets in the country on Saturday, with the conflict in the Middle East since spreading to the wider region.
“I refuse to play the World Cup in the United States if they don’t stop this war against Iran,” the now-debunked statement read.
The fake quote was accompanied by a picture which appeared to show an Instagram story post on Richarlison’s account with the words “I won’t play the World Cup until the fight is over.”
The post has so far generated 44,000 likes and 6.4million views on X, and Richarlison has since branded the quotes as “fake news”, insisting that he would never turn down the chance to play for his country.
“Just to be clear, because the fake news has gone too far: I never made that statement,” Richarlison posted on X, in reply to the original post by Topskills Sports UK.
“Although I am against any kind of war and conflict, I never said I wouldn't play for the Brazilian national team at the World Cup. I hope everyone who shared this lie takes it back and deletes their posts.”
This is not the first time that Richarlison has felt the need to clarify rumours on social media.
He recently accused a journalist of spreading “fake news” suggesting he was set to leave Tottenham.
“This guy has been spreading fake news for two years saying I’m leaving Tottenham,” Richarlison said on Instagram last month.
“First you should check the facts before releasing them to the media. I tried sending messages to ask him to stop, but he still continues.”
