Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 6y

Tottenham's Dele Alli joins agency that represents Ronaldo, Mourinho, Kane

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has said he is "relishing" life after joining the agency that represents Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and teammate Harry Kane.

Alli, 21, has signed a deal with CAA Sports -- which also represents Carlo Ancelotti, James Rodriguez and Formula One driver Nico Rosberg -- to maximise his commercial value.

The England international is due to split with his agent Rob Segal in the coming weeks and will be represented by his adoptive brother Harry Hickford, a former teammate at MK Dons, while CAA manages his commercial deals.

"It was clear from the start that this is a company that can help me maximise my potential off the field," Alli said in a statement released by CAA.

Alli already has deals with Adidas and BT Sport, and in June he was named the 13th most marketable sportsman in the world in a study by U.S. sports-business publication SportsPro.

Tottenham paid MK Dons just £5 million to sign Alli in 2015 but this week he was valued at €180.2m (£159m), making him the second most valuable under-21 player on the planet, in a study by CIES Football Observatory.

Asked how he copes with his price tag, Alli told Sport Bild: "There have been moments which felt unreal. But I have worked hard since my youth to experience all those big games. When I joined Spurs from MK Dons, I felt I was ready for Premier League. Now I just relish it, and I am thankful."

Alli, who signed a six-year deal with Tottenham a year ago, is set to start their final Champions League group game against Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday, with Spurs already assured of top spot in their group after beating Real Madrid at home, drawing with them at the Santiago Bernabeu and taking six points from Borussia Dortmund.

"I admit: We were not happy following the draw," he said. "But that's the Champions League. We are pleased that we won the group on matchday five with that 2-1 at Dortmund. This will give us a push for the knockout stages."

Despite topping the group, Juventus and Bayern Munich are among Spurs' potential round-of-16 opponents and Alli added: "You just need to look into the history books. FC Bayern will always be one of the strongest teams in the world. They bring a lot of quality to the pitch, have unbelievable players. I'd prefer not to play them in the next round.

"I talked Bundesliga a bit with [Manchester City's] Leroy Sane and [former Spurs defender] Kevin Wimmer, and I have seen the German teams in the Champions League. And I sometimes pick Bayern as my team on FIFA.

"The Bundesliga will always remain a competitor, even though internationally things are not going that well for them right now. But the Premier League is the best league in the world for me. And I want to continue to show what I can do there."

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