BBC Sport pundit hits out at Everton over Tottenham accusation with club ‘in a whole world of trouble’
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Paul Robinson has slammed the claim from Everton that Tottenham took advantage of their financial issues to sign Richarlison for a lower fee as “nonsense”.
In the Toffees’ presentation to the independent commission ruling on their profit and sustainability breach the Merseysiders had claimed that Spurs took advantage of the situation to land the Brazilian striker for £20million below the £80million they had budgeted to receive [Paul Brown, 17 November], as a mitigating factor for their overspend.
But Robinson has dismissed the suggestion as something that “beggars belief”, and attributing it to a club “in a whole world of trouble” after their 10-point deduction.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News the BBC Sport pundit said: “It’s nonsense. Everton sold the player. The price must have been agreed for the player.
“If they feel he was undersold there’s only one person’s fault. If you own something and you sell it, whether it’s on eBay, whether it’s a house, a property, you value something and set a price, you then have to agree a lower price if somebody bids that.
“It just seems to me that Everton are in a whole world of trouble and a whole mess financially, which we know that they are, and if those kind of statements are true it beggars belief doesn’t it?”
In a buyer’s market the asking price is always going to be better, and since it was widely known that Everton were scrambling to sell Richarlison before the end of the accounting period at the time specifically to help balance the books [Sky Sports] it is little surprise they got less than they wanted for the 26-year-old.
Spurs might even argue that for a £60m deal they actually overpaid given the forward’s struggles in North London – five goals total and just two in the Premier League – but either way it can’t be held against the club or Daniel Levy for paying below the lofty valuation they had at Goodison Park.
Ultimately the Toffees hierarchy didn’t have to accept the offer, and while they might have an argument over the fairness of the heavy penalty since imposed on them it is not Spurs’ responsibility.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs fans now have a “vendetta” against one player after what he did admits Robinson.