Daily Alli, Everton midfielder, recounted shocking details of his childhood suffering, stressing that he was sexually abused at the age of six, and that two years later he turned to drug trafficking, and indicated that he had recently been forced to enter a rehabilitation center for a period of 6 weeks due to his addiction to sleeping pills.
The career of Dele Alli (27 years) has declined a lot in recent years, but he has now revealed the reason for his mental struggle that prompted him to consider ending his football career at the age of twenty-four.
In an emotionally poignant interview, the England international fought back tears as he revealed his difficult upbringing before he was adopted by the Hickfords.
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
“My mom was an alcoholic,” Ally told Gary Neville on the Overlap podcast. Sent to Africa (to stay with his father) to learn discipline, then sent back… At seven I started smoking, and at eight I started dealing drugs.”
He added, “At the age of 11, I got stuck on a bridge, before I was adopted by a wonderful family. I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they did for me.
Alli was fighting in silence off the field, which led to his “frightening” addiction to sleeping pills and heavy drinking.
“I have become addicted to sleeping pills, and this is probably not just a problem for me,” Alli was quoted as saying by PA Media. I think it’s something that exists more than people realize in football.
“I don’t want to talk about the numbers, but it sure was a lot, and there were some scary moments that I went through,” he explained.
Alli left Tottenham in 2022 and joined Everton, but he spent last season on loan to Turkish Besiktas, before returning to Everton, but he suffered an injury and underwent surgery, and he also received assistance in a hospital in the United States.
