Everton star Richarlison claims Carlo Ancelotti has told him he can win a Golden Ball

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Everton forward Richarlison has said that Carlo Ancelotti has such belief in him, that he’s told him he can one day win a Golden Ball award.

The Brazilian has been speaking about working under the Italian whilst on international duty, and reckons the 61-year-old has big faith in him to become a top-class star.

Richarlison has impressed since arriving on English shores in 2017 with Watford.

An exciting debut season at Vicarage Road saw him seal a £50 million move (BBC Sport) to Goodison Park in 2018, and the South American has done fairly well on Merseyside, hitting 33 goals in 83 appearances.

The star still has lots of developing to do, but Ancelotti is apparently in no doubt about his potential.

Speaking to Globo Esporte, Richarlison said: “Ancelotti himself has already said that I’m among the 10 best strikers he has coached and that’s an honour for me.

“It motivated me a lot, I want to improve even more. He already told me that I’ll win the Golden Ball, that I’ll win several championships.

“I’ll trust the man’s word. Now I just need to improve, working hard in training, so I can continue to evolve.”

The Golden Ball is awarded to the best player at a World Cup finals, and has previously been won by the likes of Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, and Diego Maradona.

TBR’s View – Richarlison has top-class potential

It’s sometimes easy to forget that Richarlison is still only 23 years old.

What he’s shown so far in the Premier League though – and also with Brazil – at such a young age is quite impressive, especially given he’s spent most of his time playing with that £50 million price tag hanging over him.

If the £90,000-a-week star (Spotrac) can continue to have a good relationship with Ancelotti, then there’s no reason why Richarlison can’t develop into a top-class player one day – and perhaps that Golden Ball will be within his grasp.