Prince William has praised ‘brave and inspirational’ Dele Alli after the Everton footballer opened up about his childhood trauma.
In an emotional interview with former England defender Gary Neville, Dele bravely admitted he had been molested when he was six by one of his alcoholic mother’s friends and that as an adult he had become addicted to sleeping tablets.
His interview has seen stars and fans from across the world rally around him, including the Prince of Wales who tweeted a personal message to thank him for opening up about his mental health.
Prince William said in a touching show of support: ‘Brave and inspirational @dele_official. Discussing mental health is not a sign of weakness. Let’s keep the conversation going. We’re all with you and we wish you the very best. W’.
In the interviews, Dele also described how torrid his childhood with his birth family had been before he was adopted at the age of 12.
‘When I was six I was molested by mum’s friend… because my mum was an alcoholic,’ he said in the one-to-one on with Neville on The Overlap, ‘That happened at six.’
He continued: ‘And then I was sent to Africa to learn discipline and then I was sent back. At seven I started smoking and then at eight I started selling drugs.
‘An older person told me they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike so I’d ride around with my football and underneath I’d have drugs.
‘At 11 I was hung off a bridge… by a guy from the next estate. A man. By 12 I was adopted but from then it was like I was adopted by an amazing family.’
Born Bamidele Jermaine Alli, his mother, Denise and his Nigerian father, Kehinde, split when he was three years old. They welcomed Dele a year after his parents Denise and Kehinde met in a nightclub.
He was born to an alcoholic mother who had four children with four different partners.
Dele himself has admitted he fell in with ‘the wrong crowd’ when he was growing up as a youth in Milton Keynes.
‘I got into trouble a few times when I was younger. I hung around with the wrong people,’ he told The Sun in 2017.
‘With the older boys, I tried to do what they did. We weren’t in a very good area.
‘Football gave me the opportunity to actually put my energy into something else than hanging out on the street at 12 years old until 2am.’
Speaking later to MailOnline, Dele confessed: ‘Football was a great distraction from the path I was heading down.
‘I’m very lucky to have met people who helped me through the hardest of times and have helped me grow into the person I am today.’
His father, originally from Nigeria, was studying for a Masters at De Montfort University before he went into his whirlwind romance with Denise which ultimately ended three years after Dele was born.
Dele, spent time living with his millionaire father in Nigeria, in a 10-room mansion attending a private school, and waited on by three maids, before returning to his mum aged 11 after his father remarried and moved to Houston, Texas.
His football talent was quickly spotted and he began training with MK Dons five days a week and moved in with team-mate Harry Hickford’s family.
