Jose Mourinho told Dele Alli he was "f***ing lazy" to his face in front of the whole Spurs squad in a team meeting.
The brutal comment from Mourinho features in the Amazon 'All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur' documentary, which gave a fascinating insight into how the Portuguese manager works.
After Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, he was going through the tactics ahead of his first game in charge against West Ham United and decided to single out Alli.
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Going through a clip from a training session, Mourinho takes issue with the former MK Dons midfielder not being quick enough with his decision-making.
"Fast ball, fast ball and in the space," Mourinho said animatedly.
"Okay, I understood already, where's Dele? I understood already that you are a f***ing lazy guy in training."
Alli, having put his hand up, couldn't help but crack a smile. He had already been told he was "f***ing lazy" by Mourinho in a training session.
Earlier on in episode one of the series, Mourinho told Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that Alli is not good in training but reveals he is the one player Sir Alex Ferguson told him to sign.
"I told already Dele very directly that he doesn't train well, he is not a good trainer," Mourinho said in a chat in his office.
"I am not saying a disaster but I am not saying Harry Kane, Harry Kane is a very good trainer.
"Sir Alex Ferguson gave me only one bit of advice in two and a half years: Buy Dele Alli. 'That guy, with that mentality, the way he plays, the aggression he has in mind. This guy is the Manchester United player. Buy Dele Alli'.
"And he [Ferguson] has an eye for a player. But he [Alli] is not a good trainer, we need to find motivation for the guy."
In episode three, Mourinho had a personal one-to-one chat with Alli, who won back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards and scored 28 goals in his first two seasons in the Premier League.
The former Real Madrid and Inter Milan coach was extremely honest in the conversation as he attempted to motivate Alli to find consistency before it was too late.
"Maybe, inside, you are telling me to f*** off, but I have to tell you exactly what I see," Mourinho began.
"I have no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible things in incredible matches. But I always felt that you had ups and downs.
"There is a huge difference between a player who has consistency and a player who has moments. That is what makes the difference between a top, top player and a player with top potential.
"It is something to analyse yourself for you to realise why your career has been MK Dons, Tottenham, national team... bang!
"Then, when you reached the top, why do you have these little ups and downs."
Mourinho continued: "I am 56 now and yesterday I was 20. Time flies. One day I think you will regret it if you don't reach what you can reach.
"I am not expecting you to be the man of the match every game. I am not expecting you to score goals every game. I want just to tell you that you will regret it.
"You should demand more from yourself. It should not be me demanding more from you. Nobody else. You. You should demand more from yourself."
Alli scored three goals in his first three games under Mourinho but eventually fell out of favour and went six months without starting a game in the Premier League at Spurs.
In January this year he joined Everton on an initial free transfer after just eight league starts in the 2021/22 campaign. But Alli has struggled on Merseyside and has made just one start in the top flight.
The 26-year old is now reportedly close to moving to Turkish giants Besiktas in what could be loan or permanent deal.
He has been capped 39 times for England, playing at the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup, but has been nowhere near Gareth Southgate's squad since 2016.
Topics: Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Everton, Dele Alli
Josh Lawless