Everton midfielder Dele Alli has opened up on his mental health struggles and revealed he was sexually abused as a child.
In an emotional interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, the 27-year-old said that he was sexually abused at the age of six and sold drugs during a traumatic childhood.
He has admitted for the first time that he went to rehab in an effort to deal with his dependence on sleeping pills.
He said: “I mean, I think there were a few incidents that could give you kind of a brief understanding.
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“So, at six, I was molested by my mum’s friend, who was at the house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic, and that happened at six. I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs.
“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.
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“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. They were amazing, and they’ve helped me a lot, and that was another thing, you know – when I started living with them, it was hard for me to really open up to them, because I felt within myself, it was easy to get rid of me again.
“I tried to be the best kid I could be for them. I stayed with them from 12, and then started playing first-team, professionally, at 16. It all sort of took off from there.”
Dele moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Everton in 2022 but struggled for form at the Merseyside club. He subsequently moved to Besiktas on loan, where he also failed to find consistency in his performances.
Dele now wants to help others who are struggling with similar problems.
“When I came from Turkey, I found out I needed an operation. I was in a bad place mentally. I decided to go to a modern day rehab facility for mental health, addiction and trauma,” he said.
“I felt like it was time for me. With things like that, you can’t be told to go there. I made the decision to go there. I was caught in a bad cycle, I was relying on things that were doing me harm. I was waking up every day and was winning the fight, going into training, smiling, showing I was happy but inside I was definitely losing the battle and it was definitely time to change it.
I’m struggling to find the words to put with this post but please watch my most recent interview with Dele. 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
“When I got injured and they told me I needed surgery. I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle begins and I didn’t want it to happen anymore so I went there for six weeks (rehab).
“Everton were amazing about it, they were always supportive of me 100 per cent and I’ll be grateful for them forever. Whatever happens in the future, for them to be so open, honest and understanding, I couldn’t have asked for anything more in that time when I was probably making the biggest decision of my life, something I was scared to do.
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“But I was happy I done it and to be honest, I couldn’t have expected it to go the way it did. Before you hear about it, it has its own stigma. It’s something people don’t want to do, going into rehab, it definitely sounds scary.
“But I could never have imagined how much I would get from it and how much it helped me mentally because I was in a bad place.
“I got out three weeks ago. If I’m being honest I probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk about it this soon but I’m in a really good place to talk about this now.”
After admitting to his sleeping pill addiction, Dele says it is a massive problem in football that needs to be controlled.
“It’s been going on for a long time (my addiction), the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had. I didn’t realise it was for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever.
“There are things a lot of people do but if you abuse it and use it in the wrong way and you’re not actually doing it for the pleasure, you’re doing it to try and chase something or hide from something, it can obviously damage you a lot.
“I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a problem that not only I have. I think it’s something that it’s going around more than people realise in football.
“Hopefully me coming out and speaking about it can help people. Don’t get me wrong, they work. I think with our schedule, you have a game, you have to be up early to train, the adrenaline and stuff. To take a sleeping tablet to sleep and be ready is fine but when your dopamine system is broken as I am, it can obviously have the reverse effect because it does work for the problems you want to deal with and that’s the problem. It works until it doesn’t.
“Yeah I definitely abused them too much. Don’t get me wrong, I’d stop sometimes and go a few months without them but I was never really dealing with the problem. It got really bad at some points. I didn’t understand how bad it was, but I was never really dealing with the route of the problem.”
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An Everton spokesperson said that they have been “supporting Dele in both his return to fitness and overcoming the personal challenges” highlighted in the interview and that everyone “respects and applauds Dele’s bravery to speak about the difficulties he has faced, as well as seek the help required”.
They added: “The physical and mental welfare of all our players is of paramount importance. The club takes very seriously its responsibility in protecting the confidentiality of players and staff.
“Dele will not be conducting any further interviews in relation to his rehabilitation, and we ask that his privacy is respected while he continues his recuperation from injury and receives the full care and support needed for his physical and mental wellbeing.”
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(Photo: Mehmet Ali Ozcan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
