Real Madrid have pinched a couple of players from Spurs that haven't gone down too well with the supporters but being realistic Tottenham Hotspur at that stage were a stepping stone club to something bigger.
Under Mauricio Pochettino that is changing, the players feel they can win things at Tottenham and are all signing long-term contracts to stay. There have been reports of Real Madrid watching Dele Alli and Sky Sports Spanish football expert, Guillem Balague, suggests the Spanish side wouldn't be looking to sign him for another couple of years when he has developed further.
Sponsor Adidas though, want Real Madrid to sign the young Englishman and are pushing for them to sign him according to the Spanish media. Who sponsors Dele Alli? Adidas.
He wouldn't be the first transfer funded by a sponsor. Adidas have reportedly signed but not yet announced a £122.9m-a-year shirt sponsorship for the next 10 years according to Marca, a newspaper based in Madrid and the largest sports-based paper in the country.
Adidas reportedly want big money signings who will sell big shirt numbers, much in the same way they bought Gareth Bale as much for his marketing value as his football. Thus players who are highly marketable commodities and popular all around the world will become Real Madrid targets and that will include Dele Alli and Harry Kane.
We have seen that policy time and time again under president Florentino Perez.