drugs, an alcoholic mother and a victim of abuse

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English midfielder Dele Alli, a former Tottenham figure and Russia 2018 World Cup player, revealed that he was sexually abused when he was six years old.

The current Everton footballer also recounted this week that during his harsh childhood he started smoking at seven, trafficked drugs at eight and was hung from a bridge at eleven.

Dele Alli opened up in an emotional interview with former footballer Gary Neville on the podcast “The Overlap”.

“At the age of six, I was sexually abused by a friend of my mother, who was at home a lot. My mom was an alcoholic. They sent me to Africa to learn discipline and then I came back,” recalled the player.

“At seven, I started smoking; at eight, I started dealing drugs. An older person told me that they would not arrest a child on a bicycle, so I rode with my soccer ball, and then underneath I carried the drugs. At eleven, they hung me from a bridge. It was a guy from the next door neighborhood, a man,” she revealed.

De lo Delle Alli, what a true warrior and I didn’t know it until today..

Mental health is not a game, it is something that truly should be normalized. That not being well every day is okay, and that asking for help doesn’t make you weak on the contrary 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/1FZM0XVo9y

— Brian Alarcon🇲🇽 (@Alarcon17) July 13, 2023

The raw testimony of the talented English midfielder caused a stir in the world of football and provoked a reaction on social networks such as that of the Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino, whom he considered the “best” of his career.

Dele Alli, 27, assured that he thought about retiring at 24 and a few months ago he decided to enter a mental health rehabilitation center.

“I’m afraid to talk about it. When I returned from Turkey (he spent a couple of seasons at Beksitas) I found out that he needed an operation. I was very mentally ill and decided to go to a mental health rehab center. They treat addictions and traumas. I felt that it was my moment. They can’t tell you to go, you have to know and make the decision yourself or it won’t work.”

“I would wake up every day and win the fight before training, smiling and showing that I was happy but inside I was definitely losing the battle. It was time to change,” said the footballer.

Delle Alli and the harsh details of her childhood.

His childhood story changed when he was adopted at the age of 12 by “an amazing family.”

“You can talk to people. It doesn’t make you weak to get help and be vulnerable; there is a lot of strength in that. I decided to go out and share my story, I am happy to do it, ”she remarked.

“I want to be a better player and a better person. You can’t drive your car looking in the rearview mirror. The journey from here is just exciting for me,” she completed.

Recently rehabilitated from his addiction to sleeping pills, the English midfielder admitted that he seriously considered hanging up his boots at the age of 24: “I literally looked in the mirror and wondered if I could retire now.”