In an emotional interview, Dele Alli breaks down in tears as he talks about his problems in the past. In an emotional new chat with Gary Ne...
In an emotional interview, Dele Alli breaks down in tears as he talks about his problems in the past.
In an emotional new chat with Gary Neville, Dele Alli talked about the hard times he went through when he played for Tottenham and Everton.
The Everton player said that he went to rehab after coming back from a loan at Besiktas in Turkey.
Alli quickly became one of England's most promising players when he joined Tottenham Hotspur. His boss, Mauricio Pochettino, helped him get there.
But since the Argentine left the club, Alli hasn't been able to play as well as he used to.
Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, and Antonio Conte all passed on him before he was sold to Everton in January 2022.
Alli tried to break into Everton's first team, but he couldn't. He spent last season on loan at Besiktas.
Also, that spell didn't go as planned. The player didn't do much to impress, and the crowd even booed him at one point.
Alli says he went to rehabilitation.
When Alli's football career went downhill, a lot of people were left asking what was going on behind the scenes.
But in an episode of The Overlap, the 27-year-old talked about his problems with United great Neville.
Neville posted about the interview on his social media accounts, calling it "the most emotional, difficult, and inspiring conversation I've ever had in my life."
He went to rehab in the U.S. for six weeks this summer because he was addicted to sleeping pills.
He talked about how he was molested by his biological mother's friend when he was six years old. He said he started smoking when he was seven and selling drugs when he was only eight. He said a man from his neighborhood hung him off a bridge when he was a child. He feels betrayed by his biological parents and doesn't want to have anything to do with either of them.
At 24, he said he thought about leaving football for good.
Called Mauricio Pochettino the "best" boss he's ever had and avoided other managers because he thought they were "fake."
Revealed Jose Mourinho said he was sorry for calling him "f***ing lazy," but that part of the conversation never made it into Tottenham's Amazon Prime video.
Jose Mourinho apologized for calling him "f***ing lazy," but that didn't make it into the Amazon Prime documentary about Tottenham.
praised the "understanding" of Everton boss Sean Dyche over the past few months and hopes for "a big season" for the Toffees.
When he talked about his addiction, he said, "I got hooked on sleeping pills, and that's not just a problem I have." People don't realize how often it happens in football, but it does.It's probably time to tell people now. It's hard to talk about because it happened recently and I've kept it a secret for a long time because I'm afraid.
"When I got back from Turkey (where I was on loan at Besiktas), I found out I had to have surgery.
"My mind was in a bad place. I chose to go to a modern rehab center that helps people with drugs, mental illness, and trauma. I thought it was my turn.You can't be told to go there; it's up to you to decide.
"I was stuck in a bad loop. I was putting my trust in things that hurt me. I was getting up every day, winning the fight, and going to training every day with a smile on my face to show how happy I was.
‘Inside I was losing the fight, so I knew I had to do something different. When they told me I needed surgery, I could remember how I felt when the cycle first started.
So I spent six weeks there. Everton was great, and I will be grateful to them for the rest of my life. For them to be so honest and understanding when I was making the biggest choice of my life—doing something I was scared to do—I couldn't have asked for more. I'm happy I've done it.'
