Alli’s tears as he talks pill addiction, abuse, drug dealing and fighting demons

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    Dele Alli and Gary Neville were left in tears as the England footballer spoke about his trauma in an emotional and revealing chat.

    Dele, as he prefers to be known, opened up on being molested as a six-year-old, selling drugs at the age of eight and wanting to retire from football when he was just 24, in an interview for The Overlap.

    The 27-year-old has struggled on the pitch in recent seasons, having previously shone at Tottenham and been labelled one of the best players in England. A move to Everton has not gone to plan, with Dele finding it difficult during a loan spell to Besiktas.

    Though the ex-MK Dons star has been battling the demons for a long time, recently getting out of rehab having been using sleeping tablets, sometimes as early as 11am during the day.

    READ MORE: 'I paid £500 to start a football team in a pub aged 18 – now we're playing in Europe'

    But it stems from a tough upbringing, with Dele saying: "I think there was a few incidents, that can give you a brief understanding. At six, I was molested by my mum's friend who was at the house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic. And then.."

    The footballer struggles to continue while tears well up in Neville's eyes during this eye-opening and clearly emotional moment for both.

    Neville looks to comfort Dele, who has his head in his hands, with the ex-Manchester United defender patting his knee. Dele apologises for breaking down though Neville sternly says: "Don't be sorry."

    Dele continues: "So that happened at six. And then I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, then I was sent back.

    "At seven, I started smoking. Eight, I started dealing drugs, selling drugs. An older person told me they wouldn't stop a kid on a bike so I'd ride around with my football, then underneath I'd have the drugs.

    "At 11 I was hung off a bridge, by a guy from the next estate, a man. And then 12 I was adopted.

    "From then, I was adopted by an amazing family, I couldn't have asked for better people. To do what they done from me, if God created people, it was them, they were amazing."

    Dele rose through the MK Dons academy, and life on the pitch was going swimmingly as helped them beat Manchester United 4-0 in one of the greatest League Cup upsets of all time.

    A move to Tottenham followed with the double PFA Young Player of the Year earning his first England call-up in 2015 and later scoring at the 2018 World Cup as he was a key part of Gareth Southgate's side which reached the semi-finals in Russia.

    Though when Jose Mourinho took over from Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham in late 2019, things started to go downhill for Dele.

    In what he admitted as the "saddest moment", Dele said to Neville: "Like one morning I woke up, I had to go training, this is when he'd stopped playing me.

    "I remember just looking in the mirror. I mean, it sounds dramatic, but I was literally staring in the mirror, and I was asking if I could retire now at 24, you know, doing the thing I love, for me that was heartbreaking.

    "To even have had that thought at 24, to retire, that hurt me a lot. That was another thing I had to carry."

    As things worsened on the pitch, Dele turned to medication to help deal with his trauma. He ended up hiding it from his adopted family, and it became so bad that Dele would turn to the pills from early in the day.

    "I was taking a lot, I don't want to talk about numbers, but it was definitely way too much," he added. "There were some scary moments I had.

    "I wasn't taking them to sleep. I would take them throughout the day. Sometimes from 11am, if I've got the day off. I would never take them when I was playing, but I'd start early if I had the day off just to escape from reality.

    "Trauma is trauma and your body registers it in the same way no matter what it is. If you knew about my life, you would understand that a little bit more."

    Now, though, Dele is in "the best place I've ever been mentally" – and hopes his emotional 45 minute chat with Neville can help others fighting similar battles.

    He added: “I’m hoping [opening up like this] helps people. It will help me. I think it’s something I needed to explain and get off my chest, and I wanted to say it in the way I felt was the truth.

    "I think mentally I’m probably in the best place I’ve ever been, and I feel good. Obviously injured at the minute, but I’ve got that passion back for football – I’m doing really well."

    The NSPCC’s confidential 24-hour helpline is 0808 800 5000; Childline is on 0800 1111.

    Police urge victims of sex abuse, no matter how long ago it took place, to call 101.

    • Tottenham Hotspur FC
    • England Football Team
    • Everton FC
    • Gary Neville
    • Premier League

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