Brazilian footballer Richarlison has called for a police investigation into a long-running dispute over a luxury property on an island in Brazil, alleging that he lost possession after investing around 10 million Brazilian reais. The Tottenham Hotspur forward has accused presidential candidate and senator Flávio Bolsonaro of being involved in the affair, although Bolsonaro has denied any connection with the property’s ownership or purchase.
The controversy has emerged at a difficult time for Richarlison, who has reportedly fallen out of favour at Tottenham and been playing for the club’s Under-21 side. His allegations, made in a video shared on social media, have also triggered renewed discussion in Brazil because of Bolsonaro’s political prominence as the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
According to reports by British newspaper The Sun and Brazilian news outlet UOL, the dispute concerns a luxury house on Ilha Comprida, in the Angra dos Reis region on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. Richarlison began investing in the property during the Covid-19 pandemic, between 2020 and 2021.
The footballer claims to have invested approximately 10 million reais alongside business partners. He reportedly purchased the property jointly with Alencar da Silveira Júnior, the then president of Brazilian club América Mineiro, and his former agent, Renato Velasco.
Richarlison alleges that several people subsequently expressed an interest in buying the property, including Flávio Bolsonaro. He says he refused to sell it to the senator and later lost possession amid legal complications.
Richarlison questions how possession was transferred
In his social media video, Richarlison expressed anger over the circumstances in which he says control of the property was taken away from him. He alleged that the courts had been used to secure possession after he rejected the proposed sale.
‘I didn’t want to sell the island to him. Because I refused, they used the courts to take possession of it through a legal manoeuvre,’ he said.
Richarlison explained that he and his associates had been working to regularise the property’s ownership documents. They had allegedly been told that resolving the matter could take several months or even years.
He questioned why the process appeared to move much more quickly for the other party.
‘Flávio Bolsonaro and that man named Willer Tomaz went there and took possession of the island in just 24 hours. The justice system has failed here. As far as I know, they took the property without spending a single penny. I spent around 10 million reais there, but I haven’t received anything back,’ Richarlison said.
His account raises questions about the legal basis for the transfer of possession, the ownership documentation and the fate of the money he says he invested. However, thes
