The Atletico Madrid team left the Spanish capital heading to Britain to face Liverpool, England, on Wednesday, kicking off the two teams' Champions League campaign.
Atletico will play its first match in the continental championship at Anfield, Liverpool's home base, for the second season in a row.
The duo, Alexander Sorloth and Arnau Ortiz, are missing from Atletico's list.
The Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported that the Norwegian striker continues to recover from the injury he suffered after the end of his country's World Cup campaign.
As for Ortiz, he has been serving a suspension since August 2024 due to his expulsion in a European Conference League qualifier match for his former team, Sosc Wroclaw, Poland.
The Spanish team's roster to face Liverpool includes Oblak, Musso, Esquivel, Llorente, Poppel, Jorge Dominguez, Le Normand, Cristian Romero, Hanko, Dani Martinez, Grimaldo, Koke, Obed, Heulmand, Cardoso, Barrios, Mendoza, Baena, Giuliano, Kang-in, Lookman, Jorge Castillo, Jonathan David, and Julián Alvarez.
English football club Tottenham Hotspur and its Brazilian striker Richarlison are facing difficulty in reaching an amicable solution to resolve the complex story of his departure from the London team.
Richarlison started in Tottenham's opening match in the English Premier League this season, which they lost to Brentford on August 22, before he was excluded from the team's list of 25 players in the prestigious competition, which was announced by Italian Roberto De Zerbi, the team's coach, last Thursday.
De Zerbe claimed that Richarlison "made his decision on his own" last Friday, after the player made clear his desire to leave Tottenham at the beginning of this summer.
However, Richarlison participated in Tottenham's preparation for the new season, and was in the team's squad for the first two matches before being informed that he was not among the club's plans.
Negotiations took place with Everton regarding Richarlison's return to Merseyside, but they were stopped before the deadline for the summer transfer period in England, last Tuesday, and suggestions that he move to Turkey to play for Trabzonspor alongside Egyptian star Mohamed Salah did not bear fruit.
With the transfer market closed in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Richarlison (29 years old) faces the possibility of not being able to play officially until next January, after De Zerbe excluded him from Tottenham’s list in the English Premier League in favor of the injured duo Wilson Odubert and Xavi Simons.
In the following lines, the British news agency (BA Media) reviews the limited options remaining to save Richarlison during the first half of the current season.
Brazil
Returning to Brazil was an option throughout Richarlison's four-year spell with Tottenham, and earlier this year, news reports indicated that a verbal agreement had been reached between the player and Brazilian club Flamengo.
Nothing new has occurred, but Richarlison began his career in Brazil with America Mineiro and Fluminense, and in recent days, Vasco da Gama fans have launched a campaign to sign the international player.
If Richarlison wants to avoid being absent from the green rectangle during the next four months, a short-term loan to any club in the Brazilian League may be an appropriate solution.
Portugal
Richarlison's former coach, Marco Silva, took over at Benfica this summer, and still has a close relationship with the Tottenham striker.
The two exchanged a warm embrace after Tottenham’s 2-1 loss to Fulham last March, and Silva later said: “Richarlison was a special player for me. I brought him to this country, and then to the second club as well. He will always be a special player.”
Although the transfer window in Portugal will not close until September 15, Benfica has already signed striker John Doran this summer, and Silva has other attacking options that would rule out Richarlison returning to work with his former coach.
elsewhere?
The other two realistic options for Richarlison to resume his playing career elsewhere are a move to Russia or Mexico, where clubs there can continue to sign new players until Thursday and Friday of this week respectively.
If Richarlison decides that none of the mentioned options are feasible for him, his only chance to play until next January may be with the Tottenham youth team under 21 years old.
