Everton star Richarlison breaks silence on Barcelona transfer links

Everton star Richarlison has broken his silence on the speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona during the January transfer window.

Reports began to emerge towards the end of the window that the Catalan side had seen a €100m (£85m) bid turned down for the Brazilian by the Blues.

But the Brazilian, who was bought by Everton from Watford for £35m in 2018, has now revealed that the whole thing was purely speculation and that the Goodison Park club never received a bid from the La Liga side for him.

“I was at home playing video games online with my friends back home in Brazil when I suddenly started receiving all these messages from people asking if the Barcelona story was true,” Richarlison told the Mail.

“I didn't know anything about it. My agent spoke to Everton and it was nothing, just rumours. It's nice to have recognition but I want to continue to score goals and do well here.”

The 22-year-old has scored 10 goals in 28 appearances this season and has continued to deliver in what has been a topsy-turvy campaign for his side.

The Blues opted to part company with boss Marco Silva in December following a poor run of form, and although his successor, Carlo Ancelotti, has managed to transform the club’s Premier League form, he could do nothing to prevent his side from crashing out of the FA Cup to a Liverpool side largely made up of youngsters at the start of January.

And Richarlison has revealed how the whole experience left him "angry" and "sad".

“I couldn't sleep after that game,” the Brazilian said on the defeat. “You could see fans cursing us on social media. I was cursing myself in the changing room and at home. I was really angry.

“But I don't think it's right (to say the men lost to the boys). That Liverpool team had quality and the young lad (Curtis Jones) scored a wonder goal. It was a sad moment for us and we needed to learn from it. The important thing is that we have got over it and moved up the table.”