Richarlison has taken his island dispute into the middle of Brazil’s presidential race. The Tottenham forward is accusing Flavio Bolsonaro, the senator and runoff candidate, of taking possession of a property off the coast of Rio de Janeiro that the player says belongs to him.
The 29-year-old has demanded that the federal police open an investigation, aired the allegation on his own social channels, and named a second man alongside Bolsonaro.
‘In 24 hours, they took the island’
Richarlison says he bought the island between 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic, and that several buyers later approached him.
“Between 2020 and 2021, I bought the island. Several potential buyers then came forward, but I didn’t want to sell it,” he said.
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The player then alleges that the senator and an associate moved on the property anyway.
“Flavio Bolsonaro and this guy Willian Tomas went there and, in 24 hours, took possession of the island,” Richarlison said.
He puts his investment at around R$10 million, equivalent to roughly £1.5 million, and says he has recovered none of it.
“I’m asking the federal police to help and investigate this properly because we want answers,” he said. “I just want what’s rightfully mine, which I earned through hard work.”
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Bolsonaro: ‘fake news’
Flavio Bolsonaro has rejected the accusation. The senator, a son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, dismissed it as “fake news” in a social-media comment, and did not respond publicly when Richarlison followed up by asking: “And what about my island?”
Richarlison says the paperwork for the island’s ownership was still being finalised when the property changed hands, and his demand now is that the federal police run a criminal investigation separate from the civil proceedings.
The timing
The accusation lands at the sharp end of a presidential campaign. Flavio Bolsonaro finished first in the opening round of Brazil’s election on 4 October 2026 with 47.03 percent of the vote, ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 45.16 percent, per reporting on the first-round result. The two meet in the runoff on 25 October 2026.
Richarlison wants the federal police to open its file; the Brazilian voters are due at the ballot box on Sunday 25 October.
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