In an interview that has gone viral, English football star Dele Alli opened up on The Overlap hosted by Gary Neville, about his childhood trauma and how that has affected both his career and life.
This came as shocking news to both his fans and football fans in general, as they just could not believe he has had to deal with all that at such a tender age.
Dele Alli burst on to the scene at the London outfit Tottenham Hotspurs as part of a group of young talented stars who had been ensembled by then coach, Maurio Pochettino. And amongst these many talented young lads, Alli was one of the most talented, as he dazzled in the midfield, to a point that he was one of the most rated midfielders in the Premier League.
Such was his talent that he even got the attention of the Spanish giants Real Madrid, wanting his signature at the Santiago Bernabeau.
At that time, he had become a regular starter for the Three Lions as well. He was in the form of his life and the future seemed brighter, even the thought of him winning the prestigious Ballon D’Or at some point did not seem a fantasy.
Then somehow it all came crushing down for him, injuries began to pull him back, then change of managers at Tottenham did not help matters either.
As under the reign of Jose Mourinho he would start to see his role become less and less.
Then there was a video that would trend of him being accused of being lazy by Mourinho, which many people bought into and it made his stock sink further.
The only thing left was for him to leave the club that made him a star, as he would go to the Merseyside outfit Everton, there he only showed glimpses of his former self.
He would eventually be released by Everton, which would see him, not getting any suitors in the Premier League, resulting in him having to look beyond England. And he would find refugee in Turkey playing for Galatasaray, but even that did not last that long, he would once again find himself released.
Now still very much young, he finds himself without a club and he would reflect on his life and career on The Overlap show with Gary Neville about how he has had to deal with abuse, depression and mental health.
He opened up about his childhood, in which he faced things, no child should ever go through. And it very much changed the way people looked at him, as they start to see how much of a fighter, he has been all his life, fighting all those battles to rise up and be one of the best young players in the most competitive league in the world.
Much respect and love to Alli for all he has achieved in his career and hopefully this is not the end of such a career that still has a lot more to offer.
