Jose Mourinho has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson urged him to sign Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli while he was Manchester United manager.
Alli now plays under the Portuguese boss at Spurs, but he clearly left his mark on Ferguson in the past.
Both Mourinho and Alli will star in the new Amazon Prime documentary on Tottenham entitled All or Nothing, which sees its first three episodes released on August 31.
And in one scene Mourinho discusses with Spurs chairman Levy how Ferguson encouraged him to make a move for Alli while he was in the hotseat at Old Trafford.
“Sir Alex Ferguson gave me only one piece of advice in two and a half years – buy Dele Alli,” Mourinho said. “That mentality, the way he plays, the aggression he has in his mind – he is a Manchester United player. Buy Dele Alli. And he has an eye for players."
Despite the advice, Mourinho eventually signed Paul Pogba instead.
And it appears he and Alli have not always seen eye-to-eye at Spurs, with Mourinho expressing his concerns to the England international over his work ethic in training at one stage.
“Maybe, inside, you are telling me to f*** off, but I have to tell you exactly what I see,” Mourinho began.
“I have no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible things in incredible matches. But I always felt that you had ups and downs.
“There is a huge difference between a player who has consistency and a player who has moments. That is what makes the difference between a top, top player and a player with top potential.
“It is something to analyse yourself for you to realise why your career has been MK Dons, Tottenham, national team... bang!
“Then, when you reached the top, why do you have these little ups and downs.
“I don't know if it is to do with your lifestyle – if in one period you were an amazing professional but in another period you felt you had become a party boy.
“I have no idea - only you can know that.
“I am 56 now and yesterday I was 20. Time flies. One day I think you will regret it if you don't reach what you can reach.
“I am not expecting you to be the man of the match every game. I am not expecting you to score goals every game. I want just to tell you that you will regret it.
“You should demand more from yourself. It should not be me demanding more from you.
“Nobody else. You. You should demand more from yourself.”
