Viral images of an alleged bust-up between Brazil teammates Vinicius Junior and Richarlison were simply from an end-of-session joke shared between several members of the squad.
Pictures emerged on social media which appeared to depict the two forwards being pulled apart by Dani Alves, Neymar and Lucas Paqueta, with shirts being pulled and Richarlison even putting his hand to Vinicius’ throat, and numerous outlets were quick to report a massive brawl in training.
However, one look at the video footage from the session makes it clear that no such bust-up actually happened.
Instead, it appears as though Richarlison was looking to avoid the traditional ‘ear-flicking’ that comes with losing a training game, which is why the Everton forward was mobbed by his teammates as they sought to dish out the light-hearted punishment.
Once Vinicius, Alves, Neymar and Paqueta had got their slaps away, they left Richarlison be and all walked away laughing.
Brazil are currently enjoying a handful of friendly games to boost their preparations for the World Cup. They beat South Korea 5-1 and will face Japan on Monday, before closing out the international break with a visit from Argentina on Saturday.
After that game, Vinicius will return to Real and work on a new contract, but Richarlison is looking to find a transfer away from Everton, with 90min revealing back in March that he had decided his time at Goodison Park was over.
The 25-year-old, who has attracted interest from the likes of PSG and Arsenal, recently confessed that he is considering his future at club level.
