Richarlison rejected a return to Everton due to the wages offered, and a move to Saudi Arabia is now increasingly possible.
Richarlison rejected a return to Everton over the club’s wage offer, per a report by Football Insider, with Saudi Arabia emerging as his next likely destination. Tottenham reportedly had an agreement with the Toffees to sell the Brazilian, who could still leave North London as a transfer to Saudi Arabia is within the realm of possibility.
Richarlison stirred up a storm at Tottenham in the latter stages of the window, following the possibility of returning to Everton, whom he left in 2022 to join the Lilywhites. Spurs had agreed a double deal with the Toffees that could have seen the Brazilian return to Merseyside while Iliman Ndiaye made the switch to North London.
After Ndiaye joined Manchester City in the final days of the window, the transaction for Richarlison was considered separate in many ways. The Brazilian ended up rejecting the idea of rejoining Everton and stayed at Spurs. In the wake of that update and the collapse of a Trabzonspor move, Roberto De Zerbi omitted him from the Premier League squad.
Wages the reason for Richarlison snub
The report revealed that the wages Everton offered proved to be the main reason for Richarlison snubbing the chance to return. Despite the snub, there is still a window of opportunity for the Brazilian to leave Tottenham in the coming period, as the Saudi window is still open.
There were reports of Richarlison agreeing personal terms with Trabzonspor in recent days. As Fabrizio Romano reported, he could have received three times his current Tottenham salary. Hence, the report from Football Insider makes sense in terms of why he rejected a return to Everton.
The transfer to Trabzonspor has now collapsed, and recent speculation has pointed to a possible switch to the Saudi Pro League. The summer transfer window window in Saudi Arabia only shuts on 12 October.
A report by The Standard speculates that a Saudi deal is very much possible in the next few days and states that a transaction to Turkey has already collapsed. The information on the interested clubs from the Middle East remains under wraps, but given the circumstances, a switch to Saudi Arabia might be the way forward for Spurs as well as the Brazilian.