Tottenham star Dele Alli has made a surprise revelation that manager Mauricio Pochettino did not like him when he arrived at the club from MK Dons in 2015.
"When I signed for Spurs in 2015 I came to have a look around the training ground, but I think he [Pochettino] was in Spain. I didn't see him till I came back for pre-season," he recalls to Guillem Balague for 'Inside Pochettino's Spurs' .
"It was really hard and I didn't know what he thought of me. The first proper one-on-one was with Jesus [Perez].
"They were speaking in Spanish and then Jesus said to me: 'He didn't like you...' or similar.
"The boss was staring me in the eye to see how I reacted. I was speechless! He paused for like a second, and he said '...but now he loves you'."
Alli has since gone on to become a tremendous success, winning the PFA Young Player of the year award during the past two seasons and becoming regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in world football.