Dele Alli spent six weeks in rehabilitation in the United States to deal with mental-health problems stemming from his traumatic childhood and addiction to sleeping pills.
Alli was one of English football̵7;s greatest talents, a member of the England team that reached that level world cup semi final That followed a period in 2018 when he was the star of Mauricio Pochettino’s young Tottenham team that nearly won the Premier League.
However, the attacking midfielder’s career has derailed in recent years and he chose to give an interview with former England defender Gary Neville to open up on the issues that are affecting him.
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Dele Alli of Besiktas JK looks on during the Turkish Super Lig match between Fatih Karagumruk SK and Besiktas JK at Ataturk Olympic Stadium on January 31, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. (BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Among them, Alli said in an episode of The Overlap released on Thursday, was a dependence on sleeping pills, which he said he was taking “just to escape reality.”
He said, “It’s been going on for a long time, without me realizing it, the things I was doing to numb my emotions. I didn’t realize I was doing it for that purpose, whether it was alcohol Have a drink or something.” ,
“There are things that a lot of people do but if you abuse it and use it in the wrong way and you’re not really doing it for enjoyment, you can call it chasing something or something are doing to hide, it may obviously hurt you a lot. I am addicted to sleeping pills and maybe it is a problem that I am not the only one. I think it is something like There’s a lot more going on in football than people realise.”
Alli, who is currently under contract Premier League Team Everton said he decided to check into a rehabilitation facility for addiction, mental health and trauma after requiring surgery following his return from loan at Turkish club Besiktas in April.
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Dele Alli of Besiktas during the Turkish Super Lig match between Besiktas and Alanyaspor at Vodafone Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey (BSR Agency/Getty Images)
He had returned from rehab three weeks ago.
He said, “I was stuck in a vicious cycle. I was trusting in things that were hurting me.” “I was waking up every day and winning the fight, going into training, smiling, pretending I was happy but deep inside I was definitely losing the fight and it was time for me to change.” I went.
“I couldn’t do it,” he said of rehab, “I expected it to go the way it did. Before you even hear about it, there’s this stigma around it. It’s something like People who don’t want to go to rehab. It sure sounds scary. I never could have imagined how much I would get out of it and how much it would help me mentally, because I was in a bad place. A lot happened when I was young that I could never understand.”
Alli, who is 27, said she was molested at age 6 by a friend of her biological mother, then “sent to Africa to learn discipline” and at age 8 she turned to drugs. Started doing business. He was adopted at the age of 12.
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Artur Masuaku #25 and Dele Alli #11 of Besiktas greet the fans during the Super Lig match between Besiktas and Alanyaspor at Vodafone Park on January 27, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images)
Alli flourished at Tottenham under Pochettino from 2015-19 argentina coach “cared for me as a person before football,” but his relations with the other managers were never as good.
Alli said that at the age of 24, when Jose Mourinho was manager of Tottenham, he returned to a “bad place”.
“One morning I woke up,” he said, “and I had to go to training – that’s when he made me stop playing – I was in bad shape and I remember just looking in the mirror… and asking Was whether I can retire now.
“At 24, doing a job I love, it was heartbreaking for me.”
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Dele Alli of Besiktas JK in action during the Turkish Super Lig match between Fatih Karagumruk SK and Besiktas JK at Atatürk Olympic Stadium on January 31, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. (BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Alli has one year remaining on his deal at Everton and said he is “ready for a big season”.
“Mentally, I’m probably in the best place I’ve ever been,” he said.
England captain and Alli’s former teammate at Tottenham, Harry Kane, tweeted that he was proud of Alli for “trying to help others and sharing his experience”, while Everton said the club “recognized Dele’s bravery”. does and appreciates the hardships they have faced, as well as the assistance they have sought.”