Dele Alli reveals he spent six weeks in rehab after becoming addicted to sleeping pills

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Dele Alli reveals he spent six weeks in rehab after becoming addicted to sleeping pills

Dele Alli has bravely revealed that he checked himself into rehab to kick an addiction to sleeping tablets and confront his traumatic childhood.

In a heartbreaking interview with The Overlap, the Everton attacker has spoken openly about his difficulties in recent years.

Alli was heralded as a generational talent during his early days at Tottenham but his career has not turned out the way many predicted.

The England star emerged as one of the country’s best young talents despite a troubled childhood that saw him taken into foster care.

And speaking candidly to Gary Neville, Alli has disclosed he spent a recent spell in a rehab facility and shared details from his traumatic childhood, including the revelation that he was molested a child by a friend of his mother’s.

In a stunning interview with Neville, Alli:

  • Revealed he spent six weeks in rehab in the United States this summer to help him with a sleeping pill addiction
  • Opened up on childhood trauma of how he was molested by his biological mum’s friend aged six
  • Admitted he started smoking when he was seven and dealing drugs when he was just eight
  • Revealed he was hung off a bridge by a man from his local area as a child
  • Says he feels betrayed by his biological parents and has no interest in a relationship with either of them
  • Admitted he seriously contemplated retiring from football at just 24
  • Hailed Mauricio Pochettino has the ‘best’ manager he’s ever played for and shunned others because they were ‘fake’
  • Revealed Jose Mourinho apologised for calling him ‘f***ing lazy’ but it never made it into Tottenham’s Amazon Prime documentary
  • Praised Everton manager Sean Dyche’s ‘understanding’ in recent months and is aiming for ‘a big season’ for the Toffees

Discussing his addiction, he said: ‘I got addicted to sleeping tablets, it’s a problem not only I have. It’s going around more than people realise in football.

 

‘Now is probably the right time to tell people. It’s tough to talk about it as it’s quite recent and something I’ve hid for a long time and I’m scared to talk about.

‘When I came back from Turkey (following a loan spell at Besiktas) I came back and found out I needed an operation.

Alli no longer has a relationship with his mother Denise, and revealed that he struggled with her alcoholism as a child

‘I was in a bad place mentally. I decided to go to a modern rehab facility that deals with addiction and mental health and trauma. I felt it was time for me.

‘You can’t be told to go there, you have to make the decision yourself.

‘I was in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm. I was waking up every day, winning the fight going into training every day smiling – willing to show I was happy.

‘Inside I was losing the battle and it was time to change. When I was told I needed surgery I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle began.

‘So I went there for six weeks. Everton were amazing and supported I will be grateful to them for ever. For them to be so honest and understanding I couldn’t ask for anything more during a time I was making the biggest decision of my life – doing something I was scared to do. I’m happy I’ve done it.’