Richarlison admits he nearly gave up on becoming a professional footballer
Everton’s summer signing Richarlison has admitted that he nearly gave up on the dream of becoming a professional career. In an interview with AS, the Toffees frontman discussed the hardships faced during the initial stages of his career and admitted that he would have not made to the big stage, had he failed with his ultimate trial with America Mineiro.
Speaking to the Spanish publication, he said: “I haven’t got enough fingers to count the number of clubs who rejected me. I was ready to give up football, but I lifted my head and I went to Belo Horizonte with just the money for an outward ticket for the last trial I had, with America MG. If I didn’t make it, I had no money to get home to Espiritu Santo, 600 kilometres away. I gave my all that morning and I passed. If I had given up after the first no I would never have made it where I am today.”
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In a report covered by The Mail, he said: “It was really simple behind the scenes. I put the offer in and Barcelona asked for a totally different amount that we would never have paid. Then they said, ‘OK, we will wait until the end of the market’. We never changed our offer. That was a bit of gamble because everyone was writing about Man United [wanting Mina] and Barcelona used that, agents used that, everyone used it. The player said constantly to me, ‘I want to go to Everton’. That was a great thing for us but you never know if Manchester United come in and offer an extra £150,000 a week – every player would like that.”