Dele Alli and Gary Neville tear up in honest chat as star admits he was molested

Gary Neville and Dele Alli both struggled to hold back the tears as the latter revealed that he had been in rehab for six weeks to tackle his mental health issues and childhood trauma. The ex-Tottenham star, now at Everton, admitted being molested as a child and said he is still dealing with the impacts of his troubled youth having developed an addiction to sleeping pills to deal with them.

Alli saw his loan spell at Besiktas cut short last season and took the decision to head to rehab after he felt previous emotions kickstarting a negative cycle within him. He told Neville on The Overlap: “When I came back from Turkey I found out I needed an operation. I was in a bad place mentally and 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. 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 and relying on things that were doing me harm. I was waking up every day, winning the fight by going to training and smiling but inside I was definitely losing the battle.

“When I got injured and they told me I needed surgery, I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle began and I didn’t want it to happen anymore so I went there for six weeks. Everton were amazing about it, they supported me 100 per cent, I’ll be grateful for them forever, whatever happens in the future.”

The 27-year-old explained how his childhood trauma had shaped some of his mental health issues. Asked by Neville about the ‘family issues’ that he had referred to during their conversation, Alli replied: “At six, I was molested by my mum’s friend. She was at the house a lot, my mum was an alcoholic.”

The pair, who had worked together for the England national team previously, were then shown in tears as Alli apologised for his emotions. He continued: “Then I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, 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 would ride around with my football and underneath I’d have my drugs. At eleven I was hung off a bridge by a man from the next estate. Then at 12, I was adopted. I was adopted by an amazing family. I couldn’t have asked for better people, they helped me a lot.”

Alli revealed that he also attended the rehab in part due to his addiction to sleeping pills, which he was taking throughout his day-to-day life to distract him from other issues. He added: “It’s been going on for a long time without me realising it, the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had. I didn’t realise I was doing it for that purpose – drinking or whatever. If you’re doing it not for pleasure but to try and chase something or to hide from something it can damage you a lot.

“It started with that then I got addicted to sleeping tablets. It’s going around more than people realise in football. It does work for the problems you want to deal with and that’s the problem, it works until it doesn’t. I’ve definitely abused them too much. I’d stop sometimes and go a few months without them but I was never really dealing with the root of the problem. I was taking a lot – definitely way too much.

“I wasn’t taking them to sleep, I was taking them during the day. I’d never take them if I was playing but I’d start early if I had a day off just to escape from reality. I didn’t understand how bad it was. The root was the traumas I had growing up and the feelings I was holding on to. I didn’t want help, I’d tell myself I wasn’t an addict but I definitely was.

“I did need help and it got to the time where I couldn’t do it by myself anymore. We don’t have to deal with everything alone. If you feel like there’s a time where you can’t do it by yourself, it doesn’t make you weak.”

The Everton midfielder, once dubbed one of the brightest talents in world football, went on to explain how his football career was severely impacted by his off-field issues – even announcing that he had previously considered hanging up his boots and retiring at just 24 years old.

He added: “There was one morning where I had to go to training and this was when he’d stopped playing me and I was in a bad place. I remember just looking in the mirror – and it sounds dramatic – but I was staring in the mirror and asking if I could retire now. At 24, doing the thing I love. For me that was heartbreaking to have even had that thought at 24. That hurt me a lot. That was another thing I had to carry.”