‘I was showing that I was happy but inside I was definitely losing the battle’: Dele Alli breaks down in tears, reveals he was sexually abused at six

Dele Alli broke down in tears and revealed that he considered retiring from football at the age of 24 in an emotionally charged interview with former Man United legend Gary Neville.
Alli, who got the chance to rejuvenate his flagging career at Everton after joining the Merseyside club in a deadline day last season, also recalled the traumatic events of his childhood and said that he was molested at the age of six and began dealing drugs at eight, was later adopted at the age of 12.
“It’s something I haven’t spoken about much but there were a few incidents that can give you a brief understanding,” the 27-year-old said on an episode of Neville’s The Overlap.
“At six I was molested my mum’s friend who was at the house a lot, my mum was an alcoholic,” he was quoted as saying Sky Sports News.
“I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. Seven I began smoking and eight I began dealing drugs,” he said before adding, “An older person told me they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike so I’d ride around with my football and underneath I’d have the drugs.

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
“11 I was hung off a bridge a man from the next estate, and at 12 I was adopted.
“I was adopted an amazing family and I couldn’t have asked for better people, they’ve helped me a lot.”
Alli also admitted to using ‘drugs and alcohol’ and said, “With our schedule when you have to wake up to train early and can’t sleep with all the adrenaline so sometimes to sleep and be ready for the next day is fine.
“But when your dopamine system and you’re as broken as I am it can have the reverse effect. I abused them too much. I was never really dealing with the problem which was growing and the traumas I had, the feelings I was holding onto, I tried to deal with it all myself.
“My adopted family, my brother, there were times they would take me aside crying asking me to just speak to them about what I was feeling but I couldn’t do it.
His constant battles with himself left him pondering over retirement at the age of 24 while at Spurs.
“Probably the saddest moment for me was when [Jose] Mourinho was manager and he’d stopped playing me.
“I remember I was in a bad place and I just looked in the mirror asking if I could retire now at 24 doing the thing I love.

“That was heartbreaking for me, to have even have that thought, that hurt me a lot and was another thing I had to carry,” he added.