While many soccer fans across the world are familiar with the goalscoring exploits of Brazil’s number 9, Richarlison, few know the true extent of his charitable goals away from the sport.
Richarlison made a £60m move from Everton to Tottenham Hotspur last summer before leading Brazil out at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and scoring the goal of the tournament.
However, he is arguably making even more strides away from the pitch entirely, as he designates 10 per cent of his total wage to helping charitable causes across the world.
This pledge from the Tottenham and Brazil striker came after he sparked a partnership with a businessman to help fund the Instituto Padre Roberto Lettieri support house back in his home country. This house helps to treat cancer patients at the Hospital do Amor in Barretos.
Speaking about the house in the past, Richarlison said: “A lot of people don’t know. In Brazil, I have a house in Barretos where there is a cancer hospital. There’s a house there to help people who don’t have the money to stay there. So there they have free food, they have everything for free. 10% of my salary goes there to help these people.”
But Richarlison’s generosity does not end there, as he also sent hundreds of food packages back to his hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic, spoke out about the Brazil rape crisis, and spoke openly about the importance of voting in the recent presidential election.
In 2019, Richarlison even paid to fly a group of Brazilian students to Taiwan so they could take part in an international math competition. In 2020, he organised a charity football match in Nova Venecia to raise enough money for 6.4 tonnes of food for those who needed it most.
It comes as no surprise that the Brazilian soccer player was handed the most prestigious award possible for an athlete in his home state of Espirito Santo. And while he was not supposed to give a speech, he ignored protocol and used his time on the stage to urge the government to invest in education.
Richarlison currently earns £90,000 per week at Tottenham Hotspur, which means that 10 per cent of his wages for a full year comes to almost half a million pounds or over $600,000.
Speaking about his duty to do some good in the world with his platform and his riches, Richarlison once said: “All of us who play in big leagues and have space in the media, we have a great social responsibility. At first, I just wanted to buy a house for my parents, but then I saw that I could do bigger things.”
Richarlison has certainly done bigger things in recent years, and we can’t wait to see what he achieves with his donations and his platform in the near future.
