Tottenham star Richarlison exclusive: "Did anyone joke with Antonio Conte over his Thomas Tuchel fall-out? No, come on, are you insane?!"
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte made headlines when his spat with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel went viral – and Richarlison said the players haven't even had a laugh with him about it since
Tottenham forward Richarlison has been speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively about the heated moment on the touchline when Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel squared up to one another.
Spurs were playing Chelsea when the two managers clashed. In the aftermath of the controversial 2-2 draw, Conte and the now-departed Tuchel shook hands, only for the feud to continue with both bosses having to be separated by staff and players.
But despite how much fans and pundits alike enjoyed the passion and intensity shown from either coach, new signing Richarlison says that the Lilywhites players haven't dared to crack a joke about the incident with the formidable Italian.
"That was fun, wasn’t it?" the Brazilian laughed, when reminded of the fracas. "At the time we were still involved with the game, so we watched what happened between them on video in the dressing room.
"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?"
Despite how funny Richarlison found the moment, he's not made a joke of it with his new manager just yet.
"Are you insane? No chance, come on!" he said when asked if he'd laugh about it with Conte. "Would you try any jokes? I did not.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"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."
The new issue of FourFourTwo, featuring the full interview with Richarlison, is available now.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
‘Amorim’s starting point is completely different to Arne Slot’s. How long will it take? F**king hell, god knows. He must be very convinced about himself’: Ex-Manchester United coach highlights how much time is needed to turn things around
‘I spoke to the other Chelsea guys at the time – everyone thought we came to Saudi just for vacation, but we’re here to work for the club. There’s pressure’: Former Blues star discusses swapping the Premier League for Al Hilal