Richarlison on why he turned down Utd and Barca transfers to stay at Everton

Richarlison has explained why he turned down interest from Manchester United and Barcelona to stay with Everton.

The Brazilian forward is set to face Liverpool on Sunday as the Merseyside rivals resume their Premier League campaigns - and ahead of the derby he told Virgil van Dijk he doesn't rate him as one of the three best defenders in the world.

But Richarlison could have been playing elsewhere after claiming he received offer from Barcelona and United earlier this season.

Everton have denied reports of an £85million bid for Richarlison from the La Liga giants.

But the 23-year-old says the offer was real - insisting he chose to stay because he's happy at Goodison Park.

"There were lots of offers during the season, from Barcelona, from Manchester (United)," he told Los Desimpedidos.

"But the club opted to keep me in the group and I didn't want to leave in the middle of the season. It's bad to leave team-mates like this."

Richarlison admits he was flattered by the interest from Barca, saying: "Of course you feel impacted -Barcelona is one of the greatest clubs in the world. But I think happiness plays its part as well."

Everton will aim to get in the way of Liverpool's juggernaut title quest in Sunday's derby at Goodison.

The Reds need just two more wins to end their 30-year title drought, and move within one of Manchester United's record 20 league crowns.

But Richarlison has already reminded Liverpool colossus Van Dijk that he's one of the few players to have beaten him with a dribble - and teammate Bernard says his compatriot is confident he can score against anyone.

“Richi is capable of adapting to any scenario during a match,” Bernard told EvertonTV .

“He's the type of player who's really aggressive in the box. He's fearless and not scared of putting himself about or taking a whack.

“Whatever is happening, the important thing for him is putting the ball in the back of the net. This makes him who he is, a player with a massive presence in the box.”