Délé Alli has reflected on his time at Tottenham Hotspur, where he nearly retired from football due to Jose Mourinho.
The 27-year old midfielder, while speaking to Gary Neville via The Overlap, revealed that it was so difficult for him under the manager as he considered retirement at just age 24.
“Probably the saddest moment for me was when Mourinho was manager, I think I was 24,” he said.
“I remember just looking in the mirror – I mean it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love.”
“For me, that was heartbreaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire.”
Mourinho and Alli relationship withered after an infamous training ground banter at Hotspur. The clash was filmed in a documentary of Amazon All or Nothing about Tottenham 2019/2020 season.
The manager had later dropped him, tagged him “lazy” and offered him some pieces of advice.
Alli is back to Everton after a loan spell at Besiktas where he made 13 appearances and scored two goals.