"Your brave words will help so many people" - Son Heung-Min sends message to Dele Alli after latter's heartbreaking interview with Gary Neville
Son Heung-Min sent a message to Dele Alli as the Englishman recently gave a tell-all heartbreaking interview with Gary Neville.
While Alli was one of the top prospects in English football during his Tottenham Hotspur stint, his fall from grace has been quite extraordinary. After a tumultuous loan spell at Besiktas, Alli is now back at Everton.
He revealed some stunning details about his life in the interview with Neville. Alli said that he was sexually assaulted at the age of six. He added that he started smoking at the age of seven. The midfielder went on to make some stunning revelations throughout the interview.
Alli, once considered the next big thing in English football, was teary-eyed while speaking to Neville. Son, Alli's former teammate at Tottenham, uploaded an Instagram story:
"Your brave words will help so many people. Proud of you mate."
What did Dele Alli say in his recent interview?
Dele Alli bared it all in his recent interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap show. The Everton player spoke about the traumatic experiences he has been through in his life so far. Alli said (via Sky Sports):
"There were a few incidents that can give you a brief understanding. At six, I was molested by my mum's friend who was at the house a lot. My mum was an alcoholic."
He added:
"I was sent to Africa to learn discipline. Then I was sent back. Seven, I started smoking. Eight, I started dealing drugs, selling drugs. An older person told me they wouldn't stop a kid, so I'd ride around with my football and then underneath I'd have the drugs."
Alli went on to say:
"Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate. At 12, 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've done for me…If God created people, it was them. They are amazing and have helped me a lot."
Alli was a great player for Tottenham Hotspur during the early part of his career. He made 269 appearances for Spurs, scoring 67 goals and providing 61 assists.
Alli has also represented England at the international level 37 times. Fans will hope that Dele Alli can find his form back and fulfil the tremendous potential he has.