The football trip of DELE Alli has taken a sad turn, whereby the former international in England is said to be retiring after he was omitted from Como's pre-season plans prior to the new Serie A campaign.
DELE, 29, joined the ambitious Italian side in January for an 18 -month deal with the option of another year, but his future in the game is now in serious doubt after a dramatic decrease in fortunes.
Once considered as one of the smartest midfielders in Europe, the former Tottenham star has difficulty rediscovering his shape and fitness in recent years.
His most recent setback came in March when he was sent away for only nine minutes in his long-awaited Serie A debut for Como in a collision against AC Milan in San Siro-being first competitive performance in more than two years.
The red card, shown after a VAR review after an error on Ruben Loftus-Cheek, drew a furious reaction from como boss Cesc Fabregas and marked a turning point in part of the short Italian adventure.
Since then he has gotten out of favor and, despite return to training after injury, is not included in the first team plans of Fabregas for the 2025-26 season.
According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, the midfielder is now seriously considering retiring, less than four years after he left Tottenham in January 2022.
The Italian outlet claims that Parte has trained separately from the senior team alongside other extraordinary players and weighs whether it is time to walk away from the game forever.
It marks a sobering chapter in a career once full of promise.
Delte burst the stage at Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino and enjoyed a remarkable 2016–17 season, scored 22 goals in all competitions and settled as one of the most exciting young midfielders in Europe.
He later played a key role in the Run from Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 and earned 37 caps for England, including performances at the 2018 World Cup.
But a series of injuries, loss of shape and off-field struggles derailed his rise.
His enchantment at Everton gave up little, and a loan movement to the Turkish side Besiktas in 2022 ended without success after a serious groin injury had put him offside for almost a year.
DELE spoke frankly about his traumatic youth last year and revealed in an emotional interview that he had molested at the age of six, started smoking and acting against eight and had tried to take his own life on his darkest moments.
His move to Como was seen as a new start – an opportunity to restart his career in a more serene setting under the supervision of Fabregas.
Early signs were promising because he made an impression in training camps and looked sharp after the winter break.
But broadcasting against Milan turned out to be expensive and his time in Italy has since been unraveled.
DELE has left for a year to his contract with Como, but it is still to be seen whether he will play again.
As it looks now, one of the great early hope of English football is confronted with the very real prospect of hanging his boots for his 30th birthday.