Tottenham ace Dele Alli lists Steven Gerrard and Ronaldinho as childhood idols

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Spurs ace Alli says he “felt like I could relate” to both the Liverpool legend – now Glasgow Rangers boss – and the Brazil icon.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has listed Barcelona legend Ronaldinho and Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard as his idols growing up, saying he could relate to both the Selecao star and the Anfield and England hero – now Glasgow Rangers manager – as he learned the ropes as a footballer (Goal.com).

The Spurs ace has enjoyed a swift rise to the upper echelons of the game, impressing at MK Dons and standing out to the point that the Premier League club opted to snap him up in the 2015 winter window aged just 18, though he was loaned back to the then League One club for the rest of the season (BBC Sport).

Alli’s debut season at Tottenham, in 2015-16, saw him claim an impressive 10 goals and 9 assists from just 33 Premier League appearances (Transfermarkt), and his current tally for Spurs stands at 53 goals and 49 assists from 184 senior appearances (Transfermarkt), with the real possibility of him hitting 200 before his 24th birthday.

When asked by Goal.com about his footballing idols growing up, Alli replied: “Ronaldinho. And then Steven Gerrard. I used to watch a lot of YouTube clips of Ronaldinho when I was in school. [I liked] the way he enjoyed playing, he always looked like he was having fun. And that was the way I wanted to play as well. I’ve grown up playing a lot of street football, it was always fun and enjoyable and it was all about tricks and things like that.

“So when I started playing professionally I didn’t want to fall out of love with the game. I wanted to do what made me happy and you could see that with Ronaldinho. In everything he’s done, he looked like he was enjoying it. And then Steven Gerrard. His attitude and his mentality – his winning mentality. He was captain for England and Liverpool and you could see how much he wanted to win every game, so I felt like I could relate to both players.”

Alli, who has also won 37 England caps (Transfermarkt), is currently recovering from a hamstring injury and has been ruled out of Tottenham’s Premier League opener at home against Aston Villa (Football London).