Of all the reasons why Richarlison could quit Everton this summer, a quest to force himself in the Brazil side is not one of them. Betfair ambassador Rivaldo has been speaking about his compatriot’s situation at Goodison Park and came out with the following: “This could be a big summer for Richarlison and his compatriot Edu, who is the technical director at Arsenal, could be crucial in a potential move to the Gunners.
“He looks set to leave Everton, with several big clubs interested, and Arsenal looks a good option for the forward. The Gunners have Edu as their director and, after working with Tite until 2019, the ex-Arsenal midfielder knows Richarlison very well from the Brazilian national team.
“Joining a club that fights near the top of the Premier League could be important for Richarlison, after a tough season with Everton, in which he was crucial to saving the club from relegation. If he gets a big move, he will have a better chance of becoming a first choice forward for Brazil at the World Cup in Qatar.”
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Now while Rivaldo was undoubtedly one of the all-time greats and one in a long line of gifted elite footballers that his great nation has produced, those of us who can recall his triumph in the 2002 World Cup will also remember his infamous act of simulation against Turkey when Hakan Unsel kicked the ball on his thigh and he went down clutching his face, getting his opponent sent off, he can also be prone to gross exaggeration and that seems to be the case here too. If there’s one thing that Richarlison hasn’t struggled with while being at Everton, it’s getting into the Brazil team.
It was shortly after his move to the Blues in 2018 that the then 21-year-old made his international debut and since then he’s won 36 full caps, scoring 14 goals. For context, only three England internationals past or present have played more time for their country while with Everton – Jordan Pickford (45); Phil Jagielka (40) and Alan Ball (39).
During this time, Richarlison has gone the distance twice in Copa America – playing in the finals in both 2019 and 2021 – while doubling up last summer to go straight from that tournament to the Tokyo Olympic Games. Marcel Brands had serious reservations about the player suffering burnout but in the end, he got his way, coming home to a hero's welcome at Finch Farm having secured a gold medal and finished top scorer and recalled: “I had a fight there, right? I spent the whole day arguing with Everton, with the director. I also called the new coach ( Rafael Benitez ).”
While he was out of the Brazil squad mid-season during 2021/22 as he worked to regain fitness with the Blues after suffering a knee injury, he was back in the side to score in the World Cup qualifiers against both Chile and Bolivia in March this year and has also featured in their friendlies against South Korea and Japan earlier this month – netting against the former.
It’s safe to say that things haven’t worked out for Richarlison like he’s have hoped when he signed for the club – as Michael Ball stated in his ECHO column after the player’s comments on his future in May, he’d have probably hoped to have won a trophy with Everton or at least guided them into a European competition – but throughout those four years, pulling on the royal blue jersey has never been a hindrance to his international prospects.
The situation would have obviously changed dramatically had Everton not won their battle against the drop – securing their Premier League status with a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in their final home game with Richarlison’s equaliser being a sixth goal in his last nine matches during the run-in – but they now remain a top flight side. Whether Richarlison wants to stick around and be part of another rebuilding project under Frank Lampard and new director of football Kevin Thelwell remains to be seen and with two years left on his contract, most fans begrudgingly realise this may well be the window to move him on if he isn’t willing to agree fresh terms, but let’s not kid ourselves by using the excuse that any potential transfer could be made to boost the player’s prospects of being including in coach Tite’s World Cup squad and getting a seat on the plane to Qatar.
The harsh truth is that as much as he is a passionate player who resonates with the Goodison Park crowd – through a combination of his own wholehearted performances and an ability to seemingly wind up rivals – Richarlison hasn’t quite hit the heights we all known his immense talent is capable of producing. While the goal against the Eagles took his Premier League tally for 2021/22 into double figures after a disappointing return of just seven the previous year, his total still fell short of the 13 he netted in both of his first two seasons at the club.
Paul Merson ended up having to eat humble pie after his bizarre claim that Richarlison’s transfer to Everton in 2018 had “spoiled the window” but while he’s since justified his fee, if his time on Merseyside is now drawing to a close, the Blues need to try and ensure they get a healthy profit on him and a price in excess of the club record £75million they raked in for Romelu Lukaku some five years ago with the funds pumped back into the squad.
