Richarlison ‘knows he has to give Everton something back’, says Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez expects Richarlison to be chomping at the bit for Everton this upcoming season after allowing him to be part of Brazil‘s Olympic squad.

Richarlison flew to Tokyo on Saturday – a week after playing in Brazil’s Copa America final defeat to eternal rivals Argentina.

Brazil kick off their Olympic campaign against the Ivory Coast on Sunday with the tournament ending on August 7.

Should Brazil reach the gold-medal match then the 24-year-old will miss Everton’s entire pre-season as well as the start of their Premier League campaign.

But while the forward’s absence will prove a major blow to the start of Benitez’s tenure at Everton, the newly-appointed manager thinks it would work in their favour come the rest of the season.

Richarlison is a reported target of Real Madrid this summer but Benitez believes Everton’s show of support will help the No 7 stay at Goodison Park.

‘I was in contact with him, he had the Olympic Games in the back of his head, we needed to sort out his situation and he is fine,’ Benitez told the club’s official website.

‘He is happy because he can go there… and he knows he has to give us something back because we were supporting him.

‘That [not being involved at the start of the season] could be something we can consider not great in the beginning but will be a massive boost for us in the rest of the season because he will try to deliver.’