Former England midfielder Dele Alli on Thursday revealed he was sexually abused as a child.
Alli was speaking in an interview with former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville for The Overlap podcast.
“It’s not something I’ve spoked about that much to be honest. There were a few incidents. At six I was molested by my mom’s friend. He was at the house a lot. My mom was an alcoholic. Then I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back,” said an emotional Alli.
“They said I wasn’t a good kid because I got in trouble a lot with the police. I grew up without any rules. My mom was drunk a lot, but I don’t blame her at all for what happened. It was all she knew. Even when I got adopted, she knew it was what was needed for me to having a chance at living a life.
“My blood dad lived in Africa and I got sent to him. It was horrible, I didn’t want to be there at all. It was nothing against the place. It was just about going from what I was living in - we had no money - there were always like 10 guys at our house. It was the drugs part [of it]. It was [going to Africa] was a big culture change so I didn’t want to be there.”
The 27-year-old also revealed he has just come out of a mental health rehab facility, and now he is able to explain how his life began to change when he was adopted at the age of 12.
“At seven I started smoking, eight I started selling drugs. An older person told me they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike so I rode around with my football and underneath I’d have the drugs. At 11 I was hung off a bridge by a man from the next estate. At 12 I was adopted by an amazing family. I couldn’t have asked for better people.
“When I started living with them, it was hard to open up to them because I felt within myself it would have been easy for them to get rid of me. I tried to be the best kid I could be for them.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me.”
Growing up in Milton Keynes, north of London, Alli made his name at Tottenham Hotspur after joining in 2015. For Spurs, he made 181 appearances while scoring 51 times. Alli also made his England debut in 2015, having represented his country on 37 occasions as he scored three goals. Alli’s last appearance in England colours came in 2019.
Alli no longer speaks to his biological father, who resurfaced in the footballer’s life when he was picked for England.
“I don’t speak to my dad now. He went missing. He’s probably going to come out now and say some sh*t,” Alli said.
“When I started playing for England he came back. I used to speak to my mom as well, to try and help her. When I was 18, they [my blood mom and father] went to the newspapers and started accusing my adopted family of doing all this stuff to me.
“They said these people were taking advantage of me, and they want to go through my contracts. After that I felt so betrayed that I couldn’t keep the relationship with my mom. And my dad ... I don’t want a relationship with him either.”
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