Richarlison reveals how Antonio Conte dealt with him after ‘mistake’ interview

Don’t think they’ll be sending each other a Christmas card

Richarlison has revealed that former Spurs boss Antonio Conte spent two hours “scolding” him in front of his teammates after a comment he made while on media duties. The Brazilian delivered an explosive interview after Spurs’ Champions League exit to AC Milan in March after becoming frustrated with his lack of game time. Following a 20-minute cameo at the San Siro, he said: “Let’s see what [Conte] will say tomorrow, but there are no fools here either, I’m a professional, I work every day and I want to play. There are minutes left, time left. “This season, excuse the word, it’s been s***, because I don’t have minutes, I suffered a little with the injury. But, when I enter the field, I give my life. I came from two games well, I think that’s it, I think I should have played and I don’t have to cry about it.” Conte subsequently replied, labelling the forward as “selfish” while agreeing that his season had been “s***”. He added that the £60m forward had also been disciplined for his public comments but had also apologised. Reflecting back on the incident with YouTube channel Que Papinho, Richarlison claimed that he was subjected to an angry rant from Conte – with his teammates present – for “two hours”.

“I made a mistake for doing an interview saying I needed [game] time,” he said, as translated by u/Ballelo. “Later on, I apologised and said that he could punish me. He told me off to show he was the commandant. It’s his way to deal with it. Almost two hours scolding me in front of everybody there.” One month on from the incident, Conte was sacked by Spurs after another public outburst where he questioned the mentality of his squad following a 3-3 draw against Southampton.