Dele Alli Admits He Is Looking Forward to Facing Barcelona & Lionel Messi in the Champions League

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has revealed he is excited to play against Barcelona and Lionel Messi, and is looking forward to the match between the two sides in the Champions League in October.

As well as Barcelona, Tottenham will face Inter and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in Group B, meaning Spurs will have to be at their best to emerge from their group and qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.

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Alli conducted a light-hearted interview with BT Sport, during which he was asked to name the best player he has ever faced. Alli responded: "I'd say Ronaldo because I haven't played against [Lionel] Messi yet."

After being asked whether he wanted to face Messi, Alli simply admitted that he did, only to be told by the nine-year-old interviewer that he was 'probably going to lose against Messi'.

The Tottenham star was also asked how old he would be when his side finally win a trophy, responding: "Well I'm 22 now and I'll be 23 in April so hopefully when I'm 23."

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Tottenham begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to the San Siro to face Inter, before welcoming Messi to Wembley Stadium at the start of October. 

Their final match in the group stage will be against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, meaning Tottenham will be keen to secure their progression from the group as soon as possible.

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Tottenham are no strangers to difficult Champions League group fixtures. Last season, they were drawn against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, but remained undefeated for the duration of the group stage, finishing top of their group.

They ultimately fell to Juventus in the round of 16, so Tottenham will be desperate to advance further in the competition this season.