Richarlyson Barbosa Felisbino, simply Richarlyson (born 27 December 1982), is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Mainly a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he could also play as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He currently works as a pundit for SporTV.

Career

Richarlyson began playing football for Ituano, where he won the

Copa São Paulo de Juniores Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parli ...

. ''Ricky'' then moved on to

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...

, a club from the ABC region in

Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo () is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Região Metropolitana de São Paulo' ...

which his father, the former footballer Lela, has also defended during his playing career. Loaned to

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n top flight club

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, the midfielder drew the attention of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

city giants Palmeiras. Concerns about a possible change of his nickname – from his first name, Richarlyson, to his last name, Felisbino – due to the relatively complicated pronounce and spelling, upon Palmeiras' request, made Richarlyson uneasy about joining the club, which culminated in a last-minute decision to instead move to

, one of Palmeiras' rivals. A court battle between São Paulo and Santo André delayed his debut for the Morumbi club, even after both clubs have reached a settlement. With few opportunities in the main squad, Richarlyson languished until the hiring of the coach

Muricy Ramalho Muricy Ramalho (born 30 November 1955) is a Brazilian former football coach and player who is the current sporting director of São Paulo. During his playing career, he was as an attacking midfielder. His most recent position was as manager ...

. Under the command of Ramalho, Richarlyson went on to have the best phase of his career as a footballer, being an integral part of São Paulo's three Campeonato Brasileiro championships in a row. At the peak of his career, Richarlyson was called by the Brazil national team's coach Dunga for their friendly against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. The former captain of the ''Seleção'' greatly praised Richarlyson's versatility. Richarlyson, despite his success for the club, was a target of constant scrutiny and abuse over allegations of homosexuality, to the point where even São Paulo supporters would sing demeaning and

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

chants against him. After a long spell at São Paulo, however, his form seemed to worsen. Becoming increasingly reckless, Richarlyson was sent off in important matches, such as the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

fixture against Universitario, and a match against Fluminense, when he called the match referee a "son of a bitch", telling him to "go fuck himself", and then ending his rant by stating that the referee "besides it all, he's lsoa faggot" in a burst of anger when leaving the field. The constant sending-offs, alongside a lack of technical quality, have forced São Paulo to negotiate the midfielder.

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, from

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, looking for reinforcements, signed the player, as the year's "top signing" for the team. A constant presence in the starting eleven, ''Ricky'' achieved success with the ''Champions of the Ice'', winning the 2012 Campeonato Mineiro and making a stellar campaign in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, taking the ''Galo'' to the

2013 Copa Libertadores The 2013 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organize ...

after a 13-year absence from the competition. In 2013, Richarlyson was joined by his brother, the forward Alecsandro, being the first time the two brothers have played together for the same team. In December 2014, Richarlyson confirmed his retirement from football. The decision was made after the relegation of his latest club, Vitória, for

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

. On 27 January 2015, however, he stepped back from retirement and signed for Chapecoense.

Personal life

In 2022, Richarlyson

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as bisexual in an interview with the podcast ''Nos Armários dos Vestiários''. This made him the first openly

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

player to have played for the Brazilian men's national team and in the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

. In 2023, he cosplayed as a

ceramic water filter Ceramic water filters (CWF) are an inexpensive and effective type of water filter that rely on the small pore size of ceramic material to filter dirt, debris, and bacteria out of water. This makes them ideal for use in developing countries, and po ...

in the reality singing competition '' The Masked Singer Brasil''.

Defamation grounded on his sexuality

On 25 June 2007, the newspaper '' Agora São Paulo'' reported that a football player of a major team would come out of the closet as a homosexual in an exclusive interview for the weekly

newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

'' Fantástico''. The following day, Brazilian sports commentator Milton Neves invited the director of Palmeiras football club José Cyrillo Júnior for his live TV show ''Debate Bola''. During the show, Neves asked Cyrillo Jr. if the player who was coming out was from his team. Cyrillo Jr. answered that "Richarlyson was almost taken by Palmeiras". Despite the public and the press overall seeing this as a potential give-away, the player did not comment on the case. The fact that Richarlyson turned down an offer from Palmeiras in the last minute, just before signing for rival

, put him in loggerheads with former Palmeiras director of football Salvador Hugo Palaia, which raised speculations about the team being homophobic. The rumors proved to be false later. Richarlyson's attorney, Renato Salge, filed a lawsuit against Cyrillo Jr. for

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

and

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. Judge Manoel Maximiano Junqueira Filho dismissed the lawsuit and justified his decision by stating that football is a "virile, masculine sport and not a homosexual one" and that, on those grounds, "Richarlyson should be forever banished by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and never be allowed to play football again". He suggested that a homosexual player should leave the team or start one of his own. After this ruling, the judge was given fifteen days to explain himself to the Justice Council of São Paulo and was also taken to court by Salge.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Santo André *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

São Paulo *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Atlético Mineiro *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Individual * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

* Bola de Prata: 2007

External links

*
globoesporte.globo.com

(archived 2 June 2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richarlyson Barbosa Felisbino 1982 births Living people Footballers from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Men's association football midfielders Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in India Brazil men's international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Campeonato Brasileiro Série D players Esporte Clube Santo André players Fortaleza Esporte Clube players FC Red Bull Salzburg players São Paulo FC players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Esporte Clube Vitória players Copa Libertadores–winning players Associação Chapecoense de Futebol players Grêmio Novorizontino players FC Goa players Guarani FC players Cianorte Futebol Clube players Esporte Clube Noroeste players Campinense Clube players America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players Brazilian LGBTQ footballers Bisexual sportsmen 21st-century Brazilian LGBTQ people Brazilian bisexual men Brazilian bisexual sportspeople Brazilian LGBTQ sportsmen 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen