Former Spurs star and England international Dele Alli has opened up about his turbulent last few years in football, mental health struggles and difficult childhood, tragically revealing that he was sexually abused as a six-year-old.
Speaking in an exclusive on the latest episode of Gary Neville’s The Overlap, Alli said that “now is the right time to talk” about all of the issues he has been struggling with both personally and professionally in recent times, as well as historically, in what proved to be a very tough chat for both of them.
Writing on social media, Neville confessed that he lost for words after speaking to the one-time elite Premier League player once considered among the best young talents in Europe, urging people to “please watch” as “it’s the most emotional, difficult yet inspirational conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”
Even in sharing just a short trailer on Twitter, you can see that both Alli and his former England coach broke into tears as they discussed trauma, addiction, depression and more.
I’m struggling to find the words to put with this post but please watch my most recent interview with Dele. It’s the most emotional, difficult yet inspirational conversation I’ve ever had in my life. Watch the interview on @wearetheoverlap here https://t.co/60d4IZwQmRpic.twitter.com/0cZowJGW77
Trigger warning: Dele Alli’s episode of The Overlap is undoubtedly the most difficult watch of the series yet.
As the 27-year-old detailed in the tell-all talk, “At six I was molested by my mum’s friend who was at the house a lot” and that his biological “mum was an alcoholic”.
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He explained how the trauma and being “sent to Africa to learn discipline”, only to be ultimately “sent back” to that same environment, led him to admit himself into a rehabilitation facility in the US and start dealing with his wounds.
During a six-week stay, Dele faced up to other seriously damaging childhood experiences, including taking up smoking aged just seven, starting to sell drugs at eight and being “hung off a bridge by a man” when he was only 11.
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He went on to add that even after being adopted by an “amazing family” at the age of 12, he struggled to let go of the memories and the feelings that went along with them.
Naturally, after discussing such a variety of difficult subjects, both Alli and Neville eventually broke into tears, with the pundit and commentator doing his best to put an arm around him and a much-needed shoulder to cry on.
Alli also revealed how he had been struggling with a sleeping pill addiction for the last couple of years, taking them “during the day” and sometimes even as “early as 11 in the morning” not only to help him rest (fairly common in professional football) but to “just escape”.
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In addition to “partying a lot” during the period when he was dropped and called “lazy” by Jose Mourinho at Spurs, he said his reliance on substances became evident and his family were left “crying asking for [him] to tell them what’s wrong”. He even said he debated retiring at the age of just 24.
This, sadly, doesn’t even scratch the surface of the topics they discussed — depression, the pressures of being a footballer and public figure, media treatment and more. You can watch Gary Neville’s The Overlap interview with Dele in full down below:
Dele Alli discusses being sexually abused, getting hooked on sleeping pills, nearly retiring at 24 and various other tough topics.
For anyone struggling with mental health, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Samaritans on 116 123, text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258, contact the NHS on 101 or, if it’s an emergency, call 999 immediately.
You can also find helpful resources regarding sexual abuse support HERE.
Featured Image — The Overlap/Sky Bet (via YouTube)
Sport
Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary
Danny Jones
Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.
The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.
While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.
You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:
The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.
There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.
Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.
The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.
We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.
The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.
Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.
“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”
Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.
So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.
Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios
Danny Jones
Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.
The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.
He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.
Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)
To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.
After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that more than GRIT, who are based in Stockport with a second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.
Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.
Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.
John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”
Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.
Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.
Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.
The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure clearly enjoyed the visit. His final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.
As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.
Danny Jones -
13th July 2023 
