Eric Dier talks up "beautiful" partnership with teammate Dele Alli

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 23 March 2017

Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder Eric Dier praises teammate Dele Alli and claims that their friendship shows what is so "beautiful" about the sport.

Eric Dier has insisted that his strong friendship with Tottenham Hotspur and England teammate Dele Alli on and off the field shows "what is so great" about football.

The pair have taken different routes to the top, as Dier spent his formative years in Portuguese football with Sporting Lisbon and Alli was plucked from League One side MK Dons.

Both men are now mainstays for club and country, which Dier - who played the full 90 minutes in England's friendly meeting with Germany on Wednesday - believes is down to the easy-going nature of his compatriot.

"When Dele first arrived at Tottenham we played quite a few preseason games in midfield together and very quickly we started to get along very well," he told Yahoo! Sport. "Dele's a good lad who loves his football and is very easy to get on with.

"The way he plays football is the way he is. Our friendship just shows what's so great about the game. Dele is a kid from Milton Keynes who made his way to Tottenham and is now playing for England. I grew up in Lisbon and came over to England when I was 20 and ended up playing with him on the national side.

"I think that's what's so beautiful about football - people come from all over the world and it brings them together, no matter where they're from, their culture, their race or their religion. You meet on the pitch and you're all equals."

Alli has featured 39 times for Spurs this season in all competitions, while Dier has 37 appearances under his belt.