Zinedine Zidane vetoed Dele Alli's move to Real Madrid because of his 2017 remarks

From being one of the key players under Mauricio Pochettino to falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho, Dele Alli's fall from grace at Tottenham Hotspur has been alarming, to say the least. The England international was recently set to be involved in an exchange deal with Real Madrid that would see Gareth Bale move the other way. While a loan deal for Bale has since been agreed, Real Madrid declined the opportunity to sign Dele Alli on loan. 

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Dele Alli to Real Madrid? Los Blancos vetoed move

With Dele Alli struggling to make the starting line-up at Tottenham, many doubted if the 24-year-old would even make the bench at the Spanish capital. However, according to reports in Spain, there's another reason why Alli's supposed loan move to Real Madrid failed - Zinedine Zidane.

According to AS, Real manager Zinedine Zidane was one of the first to veto a move for Dele Alli; the reason being the comments the midfielder made back in 2017. The publication suggests Zidane rejected a chance to sign Alli as he was left furious with the latter's remarks after he scored a brace against Real in the Champions League.

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Dele Alli to Real Madrid all but off, but interest remains

The 24-year-old said after the game: "I'm disappointed I didn't get the hat-trick to be honest. I had an easy chance at the end from a great ball in by Kieran (Trippier)," after helping Spurs score an impressive 3-1 victory over a Real at Wembley. Zidane is still said to be upset with Alli's comments, which might have gone against any Dele Alli to Real Madrid transfer discussions. AS also claims Zidane was not particularly impressed by Alli during the 2017 UCL tie as one of his goals came from a deflection while the other could have potentially been deemed offside. 

Despite Dele Alli's loan move to Madrid falling through, the 24-year-old seems to be on his way out of north London. The former MK Dons star appears to be out of favour under Jose Mourinho. Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan have both been credited with an interest in Alli. It remains to be seen if any of these rumours materialise during this transfer window. 

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As for Tottenham, the fanbase is extremely delighted with Spurs pulling off a double move for Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid. Reguilon is set to join Spurs on a permanent transfer in a deal worth €30 million (£27m). Real Madrid have inserted a buyback clause in his deal, in which they can sign the player for €40 million in the next two years. Bale returns to the North London side on a loan deal where Spurs are expected to cover half of his enormous £600,000-a-week salary.

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(Image Credits: Tottenham Instagram, AP)