Richarlison has revealed both Chelsea and Arsenal were interested in signing him this summer before Tottenham made their move.
The Brazilian striker left Everton for north London in a deal worth £60million and is already winning over Spurs fans, having scored twice in his first eight appearances at the club. It was his double against Marseille which gave his side a valuable win in the Champions League, but his season could have looked very different if Spurs hadn't moved for his signature so quickly.
Chelsea were heavily linked with a bid, while Arsenal were also thought to be in the running, before Spurs swooped to snap up their prime target ahead of their rivals.
Speaking whilst on international duty with Brazil, Richarlison said (via Goal ): “I know Chelsea made an offer, and I believe Arsenal also contacted Everton to ask about my situation, but Spurs came in and paid the fee, you know? It’s as simple as that. Everton had to sell some players to avoid a Financial Fair Play problem, and the negotiations were very brief, to be honest.
“I was on holiday in Brazil when I heard that Tottenham had made Everton an offer. I was happy because they are a huge team. Then it was all about the clubs negotiating a deal, and fortunately, everything went well. Antonio Conte called me during the negotiations and expressed how much he’d like to have me on board – that was vital for my decision.”
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Boss Antonio Conte was pleased to get a deal for Richarlison over the line and explained why the former Toffees man was top of his shortlist. "We signed Richy because we tried to sign a player that was able to play in all three [forward] positions," Conte said after Richarlison's brace vs Marseille. "For this reason we hadn't had any doubts to sign him. We did this quickly because our idea and vision was very clear, especially for this reason."
Richarlison has a similar winning mentality to his manager with Conte declaring shortly after his arrival: “[I can] feel his personality, he’s a warrior, a fighter. We need this type of player.” Although Richarlison admitted he would think twice about cracking a joke with Conte, particularly after his touchline bust-up with former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" he told Four Four Two. "It's pretty normal in football – things happen between players all the time, so it can happen to the coaches as well.
"Everyone calms down and moves on. But it was amusing to see that confrontation between the two bosses. Ours isn't afraid of confrontations, is he?"
Asked whether he had brought the incident up with Conte, Richarlison replied: "Are you insane? No chance, come on! Would you try any jokes? I did not.
"But these things are positive for football. The supporters love it. It's a privilege to experience such big games, like Tottenham vs Chelsea, Brazil vs Argentina and Everton vs Liverpool."
