Mauricio Pochettino Responds to Xavi's Alleged Comments on Dele Alli, Man City

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino hit back at Xavi and accused him of working for Manchester City after the Barcelona legend allegedly said Dele Alli is the "type of player" Sky Blues manager Pep Guardiola would like to buy. 

Xavi has now denied ever making the comments, per Javier Miguel of Sport.

But before the Spaniard's denial, the Spurs boss suggested Xavi was trying to help out his friend and former manager Guardiola. He also suggested Xavi tried to sabotage his side because of Pochettino's previous connection as a player and manager with Barca's local rivals Espanyol, per Dan Kilpatrick of ESPN FC:

"

He's in a period when he loves to talk, he's in Doha and—listen—he was a Barcelona player, he's my enemy. He tried to destroy our focus to win because he hates me because he's Barcelona—a player, a fan, you know. [...]

I don't know what Xavi said but he is working for Manchester City, maybe? He wants to help Guardiola and [club captain Vincent] Kompany.

"

As noted by Kilpatrick, Pochettino's comments were part of "a light-hearted attack" on Xavi—who is playing for Qatari club Al Sadd. 

But it is clear the Spurs boss does not appreciate any suggestion Alli, 21, could leave Tottenham this summer.

The England international has been linked with a number of huge European clubs besides City, including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, per Dave Fraser in The Sun. 

However, he has a contract with Spurs to 2022 and was recently crowned PFA Young Player of the Year for the second season running following another excellent campaign with the north London outfit.

Pochettino recently said he could not guarantee Alli will still be at Spurs next season, per Kilpatrick. 

"I cannot guarantee anything in life," he said.

And it would be a surprise if there aren't signficant moves made for him by top clubs in the summer given that he has scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists from midfield in the Premier League over the last two campaigns, per WhoScored.com.

Spurs are on an upward trajectory at the moment. They will return to the UEFA Champions League again next season and continue to compete near the top of the Premier League table.

Alli has played a key role in Spurs' progress and will surely be eager to continue at White Hart Lane at least into next season despite the interest from elsewhere.

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