Richarlison transfer saga thrown into chaos after new twist with rarely-used FIFA law in play

The future of Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison has taken yet another major twist over recent hours - with his options until January rapidly beginning to run out.

A deal between Everton and Spurs for Richarlison to rejoin the Toffees fell through before deadline day, with the Brazilian stating he wanted to return to his former club but that 'negotiations were being driven by what others wanted'.

Since then, he has been left out of Spurs' 25-man Premier League squad - though he is still training with the first team - and now a move back to Brazil with Vasco da Gama appears to be off.

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Richarlison transfer now 'ruled out'

Vasco, one of Brazilian football's most historic clubs, had been desperately trying to sign Richarlison before their transfer window closed on September 11.

According to O Globo, Vasco could not afford Spurs' asking price for the striker and had therefore resorted to convincing him to terminate his contract.

But the report also claimed that Vasco were pursuing an unusual contract arrangement with Richarlison, whereby he would sign a long-term deal but be paid in instalments, with a different club potentially taking on those payments if the 28-year-old decided to move clubs again at the end of the season. It is also claimed that they had offered 'a larger signing bonus and a share of any future sale'.

A deal for Richarlison clearly would have been significant for Brazilian football, with Santos having enticed Neymar back to what was his first professional club last year.

But in a new update, Globo say that Richarlison has rejected the offer of a long-term contract with Vasco and that the club have now 'ruled out' a transfer.

What can Richarlison do now?

It appears as if Richarlison is now likely to stay at Spurs for the rest of 2026. He had been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, but their window closed on September 6.

Whether the Brazilian can terminate his contract is unclear. FIFA does not allow players to register with a new club if their existing contract has been terminated outside of a transfer window, except in specific circumstances.

As per Global Sports Advocates, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) uses Swiss labor law principles when deciding whether 'just cause' applies to a contract termination.

That includes 'persistent' non-payment of wages, failure to provide adequate training facilities and 'breach of other material contractual terms'.

The third point is the one that could relate to Richarlison, as it notes examples such as 'absence of player registration, when registration is cancelled or the athlete is not registered to national championships'. As mentioned above, Richarlison is not part of Spurs' 25-man Premier League squad and can therefore only play in domestic cup competitions until January at the earliest.

There is a possible precedent, with former Atletico Madrid defender Renan Lodi unilaterally terminating his contract with Al Hilal last September after being left out of their Saudi Pro League squad. He subsequently signed for Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro - though did not join them until the end of December.

In a club statement, Al Hilal said the club had 'received after his [Lodi's] departure a letter from his legal representative notifying them of the termination of his active contract with the club'.

What FIFA's Article 6 states about contract terminations

Article 6 of FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, concerning player regulations and updated in January 2025, reads: "A professional who has unilaterally terminated their contract with just cause, or whose contract has been unilaterally terminated without just cause by their club, may be registered outside a registration period.

"Upon receipt of the ITC request, the FIFA general secretariat shall expeditiously assess on a prima facie basis whether the unilateral termination occurred with or without just cause and permit or deny the registration accordingly. Such prima facie assessment is without prejudice to a decision of the Football Tribunal about the consequences of the termination of contract."