Tottenham star reveals shock Paris Saint-Germain transfer talks

Tottenham forward Richarlison has admitted he held several talks with Paris Saint-Germain over replacing Kylian Mbappe at the club.

The 28-year-old revealed he was keen to link up with Neymar at club level a year before he had his fellow Brazilian inked on his back.

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Richarlison was heavily rumoured to be moving to PSG while he was at Everton in August 2021, when Mbappe first looked set to join Madrid.

The striker has now confirmed, half a decade later, that he did indeed hold talks over a switch to the Parc des Princes.

In an interview with France Football, Richarlison said: “I have had contact with PSG on several occasions.

“Every time Mbappe was about to leave, [the directors] approached me.

“Once, my agent even went to discuss things in the offices in Paris.”

Richarlison confirms PSG transfer talks

Richarlison, who has publicly shared his admiration for Neymar, added that the prospect of playing with his idol held a huge pull.

“I wanted to go there, we talked about it together with Neymar during the Selecao gatherings,” he continued.

“It didn’t work out, unfortunately, it’s a shame. It would have been incredible to play in Paris with him and the other Brazilians.”

Richarlison ultimately joined Tottenham for £60million a year after those PSG talks, with Mbappe not leaving for Madrid until 2024.

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The former did star alongside Neymar at the 2022 World Cup, following which he got a huge mural tattoo on his back of Brazilian icons, which included the Santos superstar.

Richarlison said: “I love Neymar with all my heart.

“I got Neymar’s face tattooed on my back. I also have Ronaldo and Pele’s signature.

“One day, Pele told me that I had made Brazil smile.

“Coming from the King, it was magical. I got that phrase tattooed on my back, with his dedication.”

A reunion between Richarlison and Neymar at this summer’s World Cup remains up in the air, with both stars left out of the March squad.

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Richarlison, who earned his 54th and most recent Brazil cap in October, will be desperate to earn a recall to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

He has proven to be Spurs’ top goalscorer this season despite injuries restricting him to just 15 Premier League starts.

Richarlison is the only Tottenham star to have reached double figures for goals across all competitions in what has been a horrid campaign.

His tally of nine in the Premier League is over double the club’s next best, with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero both on four goals.