Richarlison on being Brazil’s number 9: “Now I understand the weight that Ronaldo carried”

The Tottenham striker opened up about handling pressure on World Mental Health Day

Desmond Efe-Khaese

2023-10-14 11:11:34

Image Credits: © (Richarlison on Instagram )

Improvement is usually a recurring factor in the life of any successful athlete. Richarlison is an example of this: he was someone who had to overcome obstacles long before becoming the figure he is today.

After being rejected by several clubs in Brazil as a teenager, he took a risk and got a one-way ticket to Belo Horizonte to try his luck on a team, even with the possibility of being discarded and having no way to return home. América Mineiro accepted him and from there he built his way to becoming number 9 of the Brazilian team. Many years later, the forward opened up about how to deal with pressure, speaking to the official site of the Olympic Games.

Richarlison opens up about the pressure on the footballer

“You have to know how to deal with negative comments, but also with positive ones, so that everything doesn’t go to your head,” said the Tottenham star. “I remember playing with some under-17s in América who were ahead of me and could have become professionals, but they fell by the wayside.”

At 26 years old, he already knows what it means to be in the sights of an entire country as the main center forward of the Selecao: “I am very proud to wear the number 9, but now I understand the weight that Ronaldo carried and that others have had. great players who have carried it. Because when you wear the number 9, the expectation that you are going to score goals is always enormous. Every time you play, you have to do your best, you have to try to score, because it is a very heavy shirt to wear.”