Dele Alli's Como Move Was Never the Redemption Story It Looked Like

Dele Alli's move to Como was framed as a fresh start. What's followed since tells a far harder story than any tidy comeback narrative. Football doesn't always deliver the ending headlines promise so easily.

A Layoff That Ran Deeper Than Most

Alli hadn't played a competitive match in over two years before his Como debut. That absence stretched back to a loan spell at Besiktas that ended in February 2023, cut short by a hip injury, followed by groin problems that then kept him out entirely during his final season at Everton, where his contract expired as a free agent in the summer of 2024. Recovering from a gap that long was always going to be genuinely difficult, physically and otherwise, and Como's willingness to take that risk on a free transfer was itself notable given how long he had been out of the game.

A Timeline of Setbacks Since Signing

The period since his Como arrival in January 2025 followed a difficult pattern:

• A red card inside ten minutes of his Como debut
• A suspension served, followed by limited bench involvement
• Reports of being moved outside the first-team squad plans
• Reported consideration of retirement by August 2025
• A mutual contract termination that September, ending the spell

The Debut That Went Wrong Almost Immediately

Alli was introduced as a substitute against AC Milan in March 2025, coming on in the 81st minute after training his way back into contention over several weeks. Inside ten minutes, he was shown a straight red card. The challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek was upgraded from yellow to red after a VAR review flagged his studs catching the England teammate's leg. Fabregas called it a "serious mistake" afterward, while praising flashes of quality in the brief cameo itself. Alli later joked he'd have preferred to mark his return with a goal instead.

A Suspension, Then a Longer Absence From the Squad

Reports later suggested Fabregas had moved him outside his squad plans entirely, with Alli reportedly training away from the main group. That situation reportedly continued for months without any clear resolution, and he was an unused substitute for most of the remaining campaign, missing out even when the squad was otherwise short on options.

What Alli Has Said Publicly Himself

Alli has spoken openly about spending six weeks in rehab previously, addressing a sleeping pill addiction and mental health struggles connected to childhood trauma. Nothing here goes beyond what he has chosen to share himself, in a 2023 interview he later described as coming from a genuinely better place, one that drew widespread support from teammates and pundits at the time.

Where Things Reportedly Stand Now

By August 2025, reports suggested Alli was considering retirement at 29, according to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport. He denied this directly, and Como confirmed the following month that his contract had been mutually terminated, with the club stating he was seeking "regular playing opportunities" elsewhere rather than stepping away from football altogether. It closed a chapter that, in the end, produced just ten minutes of football across an eight-month stay.

The Verdict

Not every difficult layoff resolves into a clean comeback story. Alli's Como move hasn't delivered the redemption arc it initially promised, and it ended not with a return to form but with an exit before it ever really began.