“I had a shit season, and I’m not stupid”

The front of Tottenham Hotspur, richarlisoncoach criticized Anthony Conte following Wednesday’s elimination in the Champions League round of 16, the Italian questioned the decision to leave him on the bench and declared the north London club had had a “rude” season.

Spurs were knocked out of the Champions League by Milan after failing to score in two games as the Serie A club advanced 1-0 on aggregate. Richarlison, signed by Spurs in a deal worth £60m, has struggled to get playing time under Conte and only played the last 20 minutes against Milan in a 0-0 home draw.

“I didn’t understand… I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham and suddenly I was on the bench. I played five minutes against Wolves, I asked why and nobody told me why,” he said . TNT Sports Brasil.

“On Tuesday they asked me to do a fitness test at the gym and they told me I would start on Wednesday if I passed, and I was on the bench. There were things I didn’t understand.” “There is no explanation, let’s see what (Conte) tells us on Thursday, but I’m not stupid, I’m a professional who works every day and I want to play.”

Richarlison scored three goals for Brazil at the World Cup but has scored just twice for Tottenham this season and the 25-year-old is yet to open his account for the club in the Premier League, where he is four.

He bemoaned Spurs’ poor attack against Milan as they failed to test the Italian side, leaving the club with little to contend with other than securing a top four finish. “This season, and excuse my language, it’s been shit,” said Richarlison, adding that his challenge now is to start when Spurs host Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“I will try to score as many goals as possible because the club paid a lot of money for me and I have not given enough back on the pitch. It is fair to say that my injuries have not helped and I have I have enough minutes.”