Richarlison getting ‘psychological help’ after ‘turbulent’ five months as he reveals reason for tears on Brazil bench
RICHARLISON has revealed he will seek “psychological help” when he returns to England after a troublesome period in his career.
The Brazilian, 26, was seen in tears on the bench after missing a sitter and being taken off during his country’s 5-1 win over Bolivia on Saturday.
He also started in their 1-0 victory over Peru on Tuesday, but failed to score.
It is now four games without a goal for Richarlison in a Brazil shirt.
And his national team struggles come amid a tough first 12 months at Tottenham where he has netted just four times in 40 games.
And while new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou started him as the main centre-forward in each of their opening three Premier League games, Richarlison did not hit the back of the net.
Now he has opened up about the mental difficulties he has endured in recent times.
He also revealed in his brutally honest comments that problems at home have distracted him from his on-field performances.
Speaking to Globo, he said: “I’m going to go back to England, seek psychological help, from a psychologist, to work on my mind.
“On the field I’m a happy team player, I try to help as much as possible. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we want. I think this part is a bit of the off-field side that ended up getting in my way. Even though you want to do things right, it ends up going wrong.
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“I will continue to focus on the club, the storm has passed. I went through a turbulent time in the last five months off the field. Now things are right at home. People who only had an eye on my money walked away from me.
“Now things will start to flow, I’m sure I’ll get a good run at Tottenham and make things happen again.”
Referencing his tears against Bolivia, he added: “That sad moment wasn’t even because I played poorly, in my opinion I didn’t play a bad game in Belem [a 5-1 win over Bolivia], it was more of an outburst about the things that were happening off the field, which got out of control not on my part, but on the part of people who were close to me.
“That’s it, come back stronger… it’s about getting a good streak at Tottenham, this week I’m going to sit down and talk.”
Richarlison’s only goal so far this season came in a Carabao Cup loss to Fulham.
He was then dropped from Postecoglou’s starting XI for the Premier League clash with Burnley.
Captain Son Heung-min played through the middle in his place and bagged a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.
Next up for Tottenham is a home game against Sheffield United, before they travel to North London rivals Arsenal.