Dele Alli revealed on Thursday that he has recently come out of rehab for a sleeping pill addiction after struggling to deal with the trauma of suffering sexual abuse as a child.
The Everton midfielder, who was once one of English
football’s brightest talents, told Gary Neville’s “The Overlap” podcast about
how he was also dealing drugs by age eight before his life was changed by being
adopted by a new family as a 12-year-old.
Alli, 27, shot to fame under Mauricio Pochettino at
Tottenham and was a key part of the England side that reached the 2018 World
Cup semi-finals.
His career on the field has been in decline in recent years
as he fell out of favour at Spurs before struggling to make an impact at
Everton or on loan at Besiktas last season.
However, he explained how those struggles are rooted in a
series of childhood traumas that he tried to block out.
“At six I was molested by my mum’s friend, who was at the
house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic,” said Alli.
“Then I was sent to Africa (to his father) 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.
“Twelve, I was adopted… 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.”
Sleeping Pill Problem Widespread
Alli added that he hopes by speaking out he can help others
that have suffered similar abuse.
And he said a six-week spell in rehab has helped rekindle
his passion to get his football career back on track.
“Going into rehab is definitely scary but I could never have
imagined how much I would get from it and how much it would help me mentally,”
he said.
“I was in a bad place. A lot happened when I was younger
that I could never understand.”
Alli also warned that the dangers of sleeping pill addiction
are widespread in football, where players are often prescribed tablets before
and after matches.
“I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a
problem that not only I have, I think it’s something that’s going around more
than people realise in football,” he said.
“To take a sleeping tablet and be ready for the next day is
fine, but when you’re broken as I am, it can obviously have the reverse effect
because it does work for the problems you want to deal with.”
Alli is also recovering from an injury and Everton said he
would be focusing on his mental and physical well-being ahead of the new
season, which starts next month.
“Everyone at Everton respects and applauds Dele’s bravery to
speak about the difficulties he has faced, as well as seek the help required,”
Everton said in a statement.
“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 well-being.”
Alli’s former Tottenham teammate and England captain Harry
Kane saluted his friend’s bravery in speaking out publicly.
Kane tweeted: “Proud of @dele_official for speaking out and
sharing his experience to try and help others.” AFP
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