Richarlison could hardly contain his excitement as Brazil retained Olympic gold against Spain - but the Everton forward still had something to say to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Malcom netted the decisive goal in extra time as Brazil recorded a 2-1 win in the Olympic Final.
However, despite firing a first-half penalty over the crossbar, it was Richarlison who had the final say in Brazil’s victory.
Finishing the tournament as top scorer with five goals, upon collecting his medal the Toffees striker had a question for FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the Qatar World Cup.
"Next year is in Qatar, huh, baldie?”
Though asked in his native language, Portuguese is one of seven languages that Infantino speaks, according to the FIFA website , so the President would have understood the joke.
Qatar being awarded the World Cup has been controversial for several reasons.
From a purely footballing perspective, however, the high temperatures in Qatar mean the tournament is due to be played out between November and December 2022, disrupting the football calendar throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
Olympic gold was the culmination of a long summer on international duty for Richarlison, who was also part of the Brazil side that reached the Copa America final last month.
Matheus Cunha had given Brazil the lead on the stroke of half-time, making up for Richarlison’s earlier miss from 12 yards, before Mikkel Oyarzabal equalised for La Roja in the second-half.
Former Barcelona winger Malcom grabbed the winning goal in the first-half of extra time, with the South American side holding on to win their second Olympic title.
Everton boss Rafa Benitez will be keen to get Richarlison back to Finch Farm as soon as possible, but the Blues striker will need to be rested before returning to Premier League action.
The Olympic Final was Richarlison’s FIFTEENTH game of the summer, having been part of Seleção since June for World Cup Qualifiers, prior to Copa America.
Still, the Everton man has kept his sense of humour, as Infantino found out at his expense.
