Dele Alli has revealed he was sexually abused at the age of six and was dealing drugs two years later – while a recent fight against a sleeping pill addiction led to a six-week stay at a rehab clinic. The Everton midfielder has seen his football career stall in recent seasons but has now spoken on the reasons behind a mental health battle that saw him contemplate hanging up his boots at the age of 24. In an emotional interview, the England international fought back tears as he laid bare his difficult upbringing before he was adopted by the Hickford family – saying he was “molested” at the age of six. Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast in partnership with Sky Bet, Alli said: “(Childhood) is something I haven’t really spoken about that much, to be honest. “My mum was an alcoholic. I was sent to Africa (to stay with his father) to learn discipline, and then I was sent back. At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. “Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate. Twelve, I was adopted – and from then, I was adopted by an amazing family – I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’d done for me. If God created people, it was them. “There were a number of times my adopted family and my brother – you know, it makes me sad – they would take me to rooms crying, asking me to just speak to them, tell them what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling, and I just couldn’t do it because I wanted to deal with it by myself.” After signing for Tottenham from MK Dons, Alli enjoyed a fine run of form that culminated in playing a key role in England’s progress to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018. But Alli was still battling in silence off the pitch – leading to a “scary” addiction to sleeping pills and a reliance on alcohol. “I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a problem that not only I have, I think it’s something that’s going around more than people realise in football,” he said. “I think, without me realising it – the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had…I didn’t realise I was doing it for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever. “I don’t want to talk about numbers but it was definitely way too much, and there were some scary moments I had. “To take a sleeping tablet and be ready for the next day is fine, but when you’re broken as I am, it can obviously have the reverse effect because it does work for the problems you want to deal with. “That is the problem – it works until it doesn’t. So yes, I definitely abused them too much. It is scary, now I’m out of it and I look back on it. “Probably the saddest moment for me, was when (Jose) Mourinho was (Tottenham) manager, I think I was 24. I remember there was one session, like one morning I woke up and I had to go to training – this is when he’d stopped playing me – and I was in a bad place. “I mean it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love. For me, that was heart-breaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire. That hurt me a lot, that was another thing that I had to carry.” I definitely abused them too much. It is scary, now I’m out of it and I look back on it Dele Alli on his sleeping pill addiction Having left Spurs for Everton in 2022, Alli spent last season on loan at Besiktas but upon returning to England with an injury that required surgery he knew he needed help, checking into a clinic in the United States. “When I came back from Turkey, I came in and I found out that I needed an operation and I was in a bad place mentally and I decided to go to like a modern-day rehab facility for mental health,” he said. “I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm and I think I was waking up every day and I was winning the fight, you know; going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy. “But inside, I was definitely losing the battle and it was time for me to change it because when I got injured and they told me I needed surgery, I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle begins and I didn’t want it to happen any more. “They deal with like addiction, mental health, and trauma because it was something that I felt like it was time for. “I think with things like that, you can’t be told to go there, I think you have to know, and you have to make the decision yourself, otherwise it’s not going to work. “I went there for six weeks and Everton were amazing about it. They supported me 100 per cent and I’ll be grateful to them forever…I was probably making the biggest decision of my life – something I was scared to do. “But I’m happy I’ve done it and to be honest, I couldn’t of expected it to go the way it did.” Alli has received support online from former team-mates including Jan Vertonghen and Harry Kane. England captain Kane tweeted: “Proud of @dele_official for speaking out and sharing his experience to try and help others.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live FIFA bans Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al Nassr from registering new players Chloe Kelly knows every England player needs to be ready at World Cup Para-triathlete Mel Nicholls dreaming of success at Paris 2024

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Captain Son Heung-min knows Tottenham’s “family” will continue to stand behind “strong” Richarlison but hopes Saturday’s match-winning contribution by the Brazilian can boost his confidence. Richarlison turned his poor form on his head by coming off the bench to equalise in the eighth minute of stoppage time against Sheffield United before he set up Dejan Kulusevski’s winner two minutes later in a dramatic 2-1 victory. The ex-Everton forward scored only once in the Premier League last season following a £60million move and was pictured in tears while on international duty after he fired more blanks for Brazil during the past week before he later revealed his desire to seek “psychological help” upon his return to England. Saturday’s display off the bench was the perfect tonic for Richarlison after he spoke openly on Tuesday night about the “turbulent time” he has experienced during the past five months and he earned praise from his skipper following a euphoric triumph in N17. “Not only me, everyone in the squad and club was very happy for Richy,” Son said. “It was tough for him and we all hoped that this game would help his confidence. He changed the whole game, that’s what we were waiting for. “Richy, probably everyone is not happy when not in the starting XI but we know how important it is to come on and change the game like he did or Ivan (Perisic), Brennan (Johnson), Emerson (Royal), Pierre (Hojbjerg). “Everyone did a really good job. It’s important to keep an eye on it. “For Richy, everyone is very happy for him. “Richy is a really strong guy, a good character and can always bounce back strong, but when you have a tough time you need good people around you. “I always try to be a friend of him and if he needs anything then I can help him from my experience or playing-wise, also. I think everyone is standing behind him helping. He did an amazing job for this club.” “Richy obviously had a very tough time, a tough season. But I was very, very happy. I was probably more happy than him! Son Heung-min on Richarlison Tottenham’s last-gasp success on Saturday has added to the growing optimism in north London and the dramatic nature contributed towards jubilant full-time scenes. The whole Spurs squad ran towards a packed South Stand to celebrate and Sonny was eager to push Richarlison out on his own to accept the acclaim. New head coach Ange Postecoglou has quickly changed the mood at the club and a family feel is now present amongst the playing group. Asked about trying to make Richarlison soak up the applause, Son added: “This is part of family. We always want to have a good time when we play with each other. “Richy obviously had a very tough time, a tough season. But I was very, very happy. I was probably more happy than him! “We need him as a team, he has really good quality but the confidence is massively different. For Richy, I just wanted to give him the big hug he deserved and he really showed his quality. “We are still on the way. Obviously it is big games especially like this that make it more tighter and closer as a group. “I think obviously you can’t compare to the real family but we are getting really, really tight in the changing rooms. “Everyone is working for each other, everyone is running for each other, everyone is fighting for each other. If someone comes off, you give a hand and everyone is happy to do that. “That makes us really strong as a team and a group. We’re getting really close. We hope we can be even tighter than this.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jude Bellingham and language lessons help Jamie Bynoe-Gittens settle at Dortmund Pep Guardiola promises major changes for Man City team amid gruelling schedule Louis Rees-Zammit explains Cristiano Ronaldo celebration at Rugby World Cup

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