Warning: Contains details of sexual abuse and child cruelty
In a recent Dele Alli interview, the Everton man opened up in a tell-all chat on The Overlap with Gary Neville, detailing his childhood trauma and recent struggles with addiction and mental health.
Once considered a generational prospect after winning back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards at Tottenham, Dele’s career took a turn for the worse after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by the club.
He has since looked a shadow of the player he once was at such a young age, leaving many football fans scratching their heads as to what could have possibly gone wrong with the man who was supposed to lead England’s midfield for the next decade and beyond.
The Dele Alli interview on The Overlap with Gary Neville, posted on Thursday morning, offers a deep insight into the trauma the 27-year-old experienced as a child which has proved to be a factor in the issues he faces today.
I’m struggling to find the words to put with this post but please watch my most recent Dele Alli interview. It’s the most emotional, difficult yet inspirational conversation I’ve ever had in my life. Watch the interview on @wearetheoverlap here https://t.co/60d4IZwQmR pic.twitter.com/0cZowJGW77
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) July 13, 2023
The Dele Alli interview told Neville he was ‘molested’ at age six, started smoking at age seven and was dealing drugs at eight. He recently spent six weeks in a rehab facility in the United States due to a sleeping pill addiction and struggles with his mental health.
After being molested by his mother’s friend, he was sent to Africa to live with his father to ‘learn discipline’.
“An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I’d have the drugs. That was eight.
“Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate, a man.
“Twelve, I was adopted – and from then, it was like – I was adopted by an amazing family like I said, I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’d done for me. If God created people, it was them.”
He joined Everton on a free transfer last year but failed to register an impact and signed for Besiktas on a season-long loan for the 2022/23 season. After scoring twice in 13 games, the Englishman returned to Merseyside after picking up an injury in April.
“When I came back from Turkey, I found out I needed an operation and I was in a bad place mentally. I decided to go to a modern day rehab facility for mental health. They deal with addiction, mental health and trauma.
“I felt like it was time for me. With things like that, you can’t be told to go there. You have to know and make the decision yourself or it’s not going to work. I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm.
“I was waking up every day and I was winning the fight going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy but inside I was definitely losing the battle. It was time for me to change it.”
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