According to The Athletic, after being left out of Tottenham Hotspur’s 25-man Premier League squad for this season, Richarlison is exploring the possibility of taking legal action with his representatives and is considering seeking an early termination of his contract with the club. However, he has not formally filed a lawsuit at this stage.

Richarlison was unable to find a new club this summer. He came close to returning to Everton, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the terms of a contract. He subsequently attracted interest from Trabzonspor. Before the transfer window closed, Richarlison posted on social media that, after everything he had experienced over the past few years, he would no longer allow others to decide his future, adding that pressure, threats and retaliation from others would not intimidate him.

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi said that Richarlison had expressed his desire to leave the club at the start of pre-season. The club, he explained, only wanted to keep players who were willing to play for Tottenham and proud to do so. Richarlison started Tottenham’s opening league match but has not featured since.

The 29-year-old joined Tottenham from Everton in 2022 for an initial transfer fee of £50 million and has one year remaining on his contract. Under FIFA’s regulations on the status and transfer of players, a contract can theoretically be terminated early if there is “just cause.” Clubs are also prohibited from putting pressure on players through registration or deregistration, or from improperly excluding them from first-team training.