Dele Alli reveals he went to rehab for six weeks and became addicted to sleeping pills after being in ‘a bad place’

DELE ALLI has revealed he became addicted to sleeping pills following his nightmare stint in Turkey.

The England international returned to Everton in April after injury cut short his season-long loan with Turkish giants Istanbul.

Dele Alli returned to Everton in April following a nightmare stint in Turkey with BesiktasGetty

THE OVERLAPThe former England international went on a downward spiral after his return to England[/caption]

Alli, 27, found himself on a downward spiral after returning to England, excessively drinking and consuming sleeping pills.

And in a bid to get himself back on the straight and narrow, he checked himself into a rehab facility.

During an appearance on The Overlap with Gary Neville, he said: “Now is the right time for me to tell people what’s been going on.

“It’s tough to talk about because it’s something I’ve hid for a long time. I’m scared to talk about it.

“When I came back from Turkey I found out I needed an operation I was in a bad place mentally and I decided to go to a modern day rehab facility for mental health.

“They deal with addiction and trauma. I felt it was time for me.

“You can’t be told to go there – you have to know and make the decision yourself or it’s not going to work. I was caught in a bad cycle and things that were doing me harm.”

Alli’s once-promising career has been on a downward trajectory for the last few years.

SKY SPORTSOverlap host Gary Neville comforted Dele Alli during the interview[/caption]

And he admits he contemplated hanging up his boots three years ago at the age of 24.

He said: “One morning I woke up and I had to go training,’ he added.

“I remember staring in the mirror and I was asking if I could retire now. At 24. Doing the thing I love.

“For me that was heartbreaking.”

He added: ‘It’s always been me against myself in everything.

“I was winning the fight, showing I was happy. But inside, I was losing the battle.”

Overlap host Neville shared a tweet that called the conversation ‘the most emotional, difficult yet inspirational conversation I’ve ever had in my life.’

Alli was one of the first Everton players to return to pre-season training last week.

But manager Sean Dyche recently refused to be drawn on the midfielder’s future shortly after his arrival at Goodison Park.

In April, he said: “He is not here. He has an injury which will keep him out for some time.

“Some of the stuff reported – they know what they should and shouldn’t be doing.

“As a manager, you cannot control everything in their lives.

“Should we be following them all day? You can only guide them.

“He has an injury which will take a while to sort out – it will be a number of weeks.”

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