Tottenham forward Richarlison has suggested his former club Everton have a lack of ambition as he explained his reasoning behind leaving Frank Lampard s team.
Everton finished 16th last season – their lowest Premier League placing since the 2003-04 season – only ensuring their status as an ever-present in the competition thanks to a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in their penultimate game.
Richarlison scored in that win and played a pivotal role in Everton s survival, netting six goals from the start of April. Having finished as the Toffee s top scorer, with 10 league goals, he was sold to Tottenham in June for an initial £50million, with potential add-ons taking the deal to £60m.
Everton s finances have been under scrutiny after their lavish spending under Farhad Moshiri, whose investment has not yielded desired results since he purchased a majority stake in the club in 2016, and a big sale was needed to help balance the books.
Though leaving Goodison Park after four years was still a difficult decision, Richarlison feels Everton lacked the ambition to challenge for honours.
It s always a tough call when you have such strong connections with your club, and that was definitely the case for me, Richarlison told FourFourTwo.
I was happy at Everton and I’m grateful for everything I learned there. It’s a big club with a lot of history.
However, perhaps they re suffering with a lack of ambition nowadays. You know, that eagerness to win matches and trophies.
I spent four years there and I could see there was still a very long way to go to achieve big things.
I felt it was the right time to move on, and the club also had to make some money. It was a good deal for everyone involved. I m delighted with this new challenge at Spurs.
After a bright start to last season under Rafael Benitez, the former Liverpool manager who replaced Carlo Ancelotti following the latter s surprise return to Real Madrid, Everton tailed off badly as injuries and a loss of form combined.
Lampard took over from the unpopular Benitez in January, though struggled to get immediate results before finally finding a way over the line in May. Everton are yet to win in the league this season, though have shown promising signs in a run of four successive draws.
It was a very stressful season, to be honest, said Richarlison, who is set to play a key role for Brazil at the upcoming World Cup.
We had a lot of injuries and the squad wasn’t big enough to cope. I personally had some issues, too.
As soon as the previous Premier League campaign had finished, I played in the Copa America, then the Olympic Games, and then the Premier League started again. I had no break and sustained a few injuries during the season.
Richarlison has swiftly endeared himself to Spurs supporters and head coach Antonio Conte, who hailed the 25-year-old s versatility and application after a two-goal showing on his Champions League debut against Marseille.
Those goals are Richarlison s only ones in a Tottenham shirt, though he has provided two Premier League assists in his last two appearances in the top flight.
