Xavi Denies He Gave Interview on Manchester City's Interest in Signing Dele Alli

Barcelona legend Xavi has denied ever commenting on Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola's interest in Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Dele Alli.

The Sun's Daniel Cutts quoted Xavi in an exclusive on Tuesday as saying Alli "is the sort of player" his friend and former manager Guardiola would be interested in signing.

However, the 37-year-old Spaniard, currently playing for Qatari side Al Sadd, has now said he "never" gave The Sun an interview, "never" commented on Alli, 21, and so "neither" did he comment on any mooted City interest in the Englishman, per Sport's Javier Miguel.

In full, Cutts reported that Xavi said: 

"

I speak with Pep, and I know he thinks it is important to sign English players. I am sure in the summer he will look also across Europe for players to improve the squad, but also I expect him to look in the Premier League as well.

At the moment the best English player there is and also one of the best in Europe is Dele Alli. We are looking at a very special player.

Technically he is the sort of player that Pep likes, the sort of player that suits the style of game that Pep likes his teams to play.

I am sure it is not going to be a player that Tottenham will want to let go, but we know Manchester City have big resources.

"

The alleged comments from the former Barcelona midfielder prompted a response from Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Per Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Independent, the Argentinian laughed off the link to City, jokingly labelled Xavi as his "enemy" given his connection with Barca's local rivals Espanyol and said: "He is working for Manchester City, maybe? He wants to help Guardiola."

Alli was independently linked to City before Xavi's alleged claim.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

James Robson of the Manchester Evening News reported last month that Guardiola was monitoring a number of English stars, including Alli, his teammate Danny Rose and Sunderland's Jordan Pickford.

Cutts' piece led to an upturn in reports linking the England international with the Manchester outfit, including an article from Robson.

But it now seems that Xavi never made the claims about Alli in the first place. 

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