Dele Alli reveals childhood drug dealing, sexual abuse and sleeping pill addiction

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy 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. I think you have to know, and you have to make the decision yourself, otherwise it’s not going to work.” Alli – a key part of the England side that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals – also laid bare the sickening abuse he received as a child, saying he was “molested” at the age of six. “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.” open image in gallery Dele Alli said he had mostly hidden his difficulties during his football career 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. “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.