Everton star Richarlison overheard in cheeky exchange with FIFA president on Saturday
Everton forward Richarlison was overheard in a hilarious exchange with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Saturday evening in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old helped Brazil to an Olympic gold medal after the South American side beat Spain 2-1 after extra time in Japan.
Richarlison is known for his playful nature and quips, and he served one for one of the most influential figures in football as he collected his medal for his heroics during the tournament where he was named top goalscorer.
A clip of him speaking to Infantino has gone ‘viral’, with numerous accounts sharing the video where the exchange can be picked up via television.
AP journalist Mauricio Savarese translated Richarlison’s words on his personal Twitter profile, with the Brazilian allegedly saying to Infantino: “Next year it will be in Qatar, baldie.”
Cheeky
Richarlison’s words were enjoyed by many journalists and fans on social media who revelled in the apparent cheekiness to a man with such power and influence in football.
Perhaps it’s a cultural expression, but plenty of South American journalists have been seen expressing their laughter on Twitter, and it’s kept people in good spirits.
The main part of what Richarlison said, though, taking away the final description, is that he is desperate to be back on the big stage with Brazil at next year’s World Cup, which takes place in Qatar during the winter months.
The Brazilians suffered pain in the Copa America earlier this summer, with the Everton star part of the squad, and they have not tasted World Cup success since 2002, so there will be a big push to win it 20 years later.
Richarlison looks certain to be a part of the travelling squad after an inspired Olympic games, and it would take a catastrophic club season or a bad injury to rule him out.
After a fairly average campaign last time out, expect the Everton attacker to explode into life this season for the Blues.
In other Everton news, Richard Keys has issued a thinly-veiled swipe at this Blues man after what he saw online.
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