Jose Mourinho telling Dele Alli he’ll regret not ‘demanding more’ goes viral after loan link

Jose Mourinho’s pep talk to Dele Alli during their time at Tottenham has gone viral after the English midfielder was linked with a move to Besiktas.

Now with Everton, 26-year-old Alli has been found unwanted under Frank Lampard at Goodison Park, and is now being linked with a loan move to the Turkish club as part of a discussion about his future in football.

During his time at Spurs, Alli was given some advice about reaching his potential from then-boss Mourinho – which featured in Amazon’s All Or Nothing documentary on the club.

That advice has since picked up traction on social media, with many believing that Alli’s career may be on a different path if he had listened to the Portuguese gaffer.

Alli enjoyed two years playing under Mourinho, who was eventually sacked by Spurs in 2021

In the clip, Mourinho told Alli: ‘I am 56 now, and yesterday, yesterday, I was 20. In no time. Time flies.

‘One day, I think you will regret if you don’t reach what you can reach.

‘I’m not expecting you to be the man of the match every game, I’m not expecting you to score goals every game. I want to tell you that I think you will regret.

‘You should demand more from you. Not me demanding more from you. Not me. Nobody. You. I think you should demand more from you.’

The video was posted by @IbkSports, with the comment ‘If you don’t love Jose Mourinho after watching this video, then you must be related to Players like Dele Alli and Paul Pogba who never listened…’

While Alli nodded in agreement with Mourinho’s words during the Amazon clip, those on Twitter have been quick to question if the midfielder actually heard anything, with one saying: ‘He didn’t listen’.

Another added: ‘It is just obvious Dele Alli never learnt from those advices. So annoying seeing such a top talent wasting.’

Twitter users were quick to praise ‘The Special One’ for his wise advice given to Alli at Spurs

Fans were quick to defend Mourinho from criticism after the re-emergence of the clip.

Jose’s wise words led one fan to state: ‘The Special One for a reason’, in a nod to the tag often attached to Mourinho after his early success at Porto and Chelsea.

One said: ‘Show respect to Jose’, while another added: ‘Spot on Mourinho. Spent a great afternoon with him, infectious and passionate guy.’

Alli has come in for his fair share of criticism after failing to achieve the standards expected 

‘It’s Mourinho’s fault in the voice of “English pundits”,’ one fan claimed in response to the video. ‘Dele Ali has fallen so much that Turkish side want him. Respect Mourinho pls.’

Meanwhile, Alli’s failure to match the high expectations once placed on him has also been picked up by social media critics, with one saying ‘he’s nothing but a woulda shoulda coulda. Got caught up what the game gave him & stopped giving to the game.’

‘The fact that mourinho went through the stress of doing this means Dele Alli had mad potential but too bad he wasn’t serious,’ quipped another.

‘He didn’t listen and now he’s off to Besiktas on loan,’ one person tweeted. ‘This dude was once one of the brightest young talent in Europe.’

Mourinho’s words have also been interpreted as a life message, away from the football pitch

Mourinho’s words have also caught the attention of those who can see their impact beyond the football pitch – as they mirror the advice some people need outside of sport.

One tweet read: ‘This is not only related to football but life as a whole. This is the message.’

Alli made 181 appearances for Spurs, scoring 51 times between 2015 and 2022, before moving to Everton on a free deal in January after being deemed surplus to requirements.

Now he could encounter the same fate on Merseyside, and it might be Besiktas who offer him the opportunity to rediscover his footballing potential.

Alli has emerged as a target for Besiktas, potentially making a loan move away from Everton