Richarlison is enduring a nightmare season at Tottenham, who have left him out of their Premier League squad, leaving him unable to play in the competition. Things are hardly going any better off the pitch, either. The Brazilian striker has become embroiled in a dispute with Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, over the alleged seizure of his private island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Richarlison took to Instagram to set out his version of events in a series of posts, accusing Bolsonaro and his associates of using their political influence to persuade the courts to hand them control of the property.
According to Richarlison, Bolsonaro initially approached him with an offer to buy the island, which he acquired between 2020 and 2021. When Richarlison refused, Bolsonaro and Willer Tomaz, one of the key figures in the right-wing candidate’s inner circle, allegedly went to court and used their political influence to take possession of the land. Richarlison says the property cost him €1.6 million, and that he has received nothing in return for its alleged transfer to Bolsonaro. The original post appears below. One of the first to comment was Lula, Bolsonaro’s opponent in the presidential race.
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After the first round, Bolsonaro leads Lula by around two percentage points, with the decisive second round due to take place on Sunday, 25 October. Bolsonaro has dismissed Richarlison’s allegations as “fake news”. The striker’s response was brief: “What about my island?” With the election just days away, Richarlison’s intervention could resonate with Brazilian voters, given the place footballers occupy in the public life of their country. The story has attracted attention well beyond the sports pages, both in Brazil and abroad. The election result could yet have a bearing on the property dispute. Richarlison has never been shy about taking a public position on social and political issues, and he is hardly on Bolsonaro’s side.