Richarlison may have endured a stop-start debut season in the Premier League, but the Brazilian winger insists playing in England still represents a dream come true.
A superb start to his career with Watford, which produced five goals in his first 15 games, suggested the 21-year-old was set to take the English game by storm.
However, his early season form soon gave way and he failed to score from mid-November until the end of the campaign, dropping out of the Watford starting XI in the process.
Despite his struggles in the tail end of the campaign, Richarlison focusses on the positives of making it to one of Europe’s best leagues from humble beginnings in Brazil.
“Four years ago I was in Nova Venecia, selling popsicles and homemade chocolates and today I am in the Premier League,” Richarlison told globesporte.
“It’s a dream come true. It is not easy and it is not anyone who plays [in the Premier League]. I am very happy.
“Every day I thank God for having this opportunity to be in one of the biggest leagues in the world, in a club with a very good structure, I’m sure I have a lot to conquer yet.”
Richarlison’s campaign should be viewed through the spectrum of a player who arrived in England with little chance to rest after a season with Fluminense in his homeland.
He has also had to adapt to life in a new country and playing in a league which demands physicality to the point of exhaustion.
A language barrier as well as the less than tropical surroundings of south England have caused there issues, but Richarlison says he has accepted the latter and is coming to terms with the former.
“When I arrived it was five degrees, it was a big difference and I was used to 40 degrees in Rio de Janeiro,” he said.
“It was a bit difficult but these are the things of life and I have to adapt as quickly as possible.
“Language is also complicated. I understand more than I speak, but still can’t do an interview in English. I do two classes a week and I’m slowly learning and evolving.”
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