Dele Alli 'molested aged six by mum's friend' and 'dealt drugs from eight'
Dele Alli opened up about his shocking experience of being sexually abused by a friend of his mum's as a child - while speaking to Gary Neville as both men were in tears in a powerful interview
Dele Alli has revealed he was "molested" at the age of six by his mum's friend - before he was made to deal drugs.
The Everton midfielder, 27, has shed light on his upbringing in a shocking new interview with Gary Neville on his Overlap show.
Alli, who is currently enduring a turbulent spell in his career and was sent out on loan to Besiktas last season, spoke openly about his childhood trauma.
The former Tottenham star detailed being abused by a friend of his mother, which later had an impact on his mental health and led to him visiting a rehab facility.
Alli said: “At six I was molested by my mum's friend who was at the house a lot, my mum was an alcoholic, and then…”
The midfielder had to stop while overcome by emotion, with Neville also tearing up. The Manchester United legend patted his knee to console him, to which Alli said “sorry” and Neville replied “don’t be sorry”.
Alli added: “So that happened at six. I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. Seven I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs.”
Neville responded: "Selling drugs?" to which the former England international said: “Selling drugs, yeah. An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike so I’d ride around with my football and underneath I’d have the drugs… Eleven I was hung off a bridge.”
Asked who by, the double PFA Young Player of the Year added: “A guy from the next estate, a man.”
Alli went on to talk about his adoption, saying: “Twelve I was adopted. From then it was like, I was adopted by an amazing family, like I said. I couldn’t have asked for better people, to do what they done for me… If God created people, it was them. They’re amazing and they helped me a lot.”
The ex-Tottenham star explained how it was difficult to open up to them but he “tried to be the best kid I could be for them.”
Alli had been on the books at MK Dons from the age of 11 before playing in the first team professionally from 16, where he says it "all sort of took off."
He joined Tottenham for £5million in 2015, where he would go on to have the best spell of his career, scoring 67 goals in 269 appearances and reaching a Champions League final.
The attacking-midfielder stressed how he is now in the best place he's ever been in mentally, leading him to open up about his experiences for the first time.
Despite currently being out with an injury, Alli said: "I think now is probably the right time for me to tell people what’s been going on. It’s tough to talk about because it’s quite recent and it’s something I’ve kind of hid for a long time – and I’m scared to talk about it, but I think it’s the right thing to do."
He added: “I don’t want people to feel like I want people to feel sorry for me… because I don’t find it easy to accept," to which Neville responded: "People won’t think that with what you’ve just told us.”