Dele Alli hailed by fans as he makes emotional return to Spurs for Man Utd clash after revealing abuse & addiction agony
DELE ALLI was given a rousing reception by Tottenham fans as he took in their Premier League clash with Manchester United.
The former Spurs midfielder was in attendance for the North Londoners’ first home match under new gaffer Ange Postecoglou on Saturday evening.
Alli – who spent six-and-half seasons with the club – was a guest of Tottenham new boy James Maddison and was sat in the director’s box with former team-mate Eric Dier.
Prior to the match – which Spurs won 2-0 – the Spurs faithful planned to pay tribute to their former No20 in the 20th minute of the match.
And sections of the stadium duly burst into song moments after the 20-minute mark passed.
They chante “We’ve got Dele, Dele Alli. I just don’t think you understand” to the tune of Achy Breaky Heart.
Everton ace Alli – who is currently working his way back to full fitness – bravely opened up on a number of traumas in his life in an emotional interview with Gary Neville last month.
The England international revealed he’d been sexually abused as a child and that he had a recent stint in rehab.
He said: “When I was six I was molested by mum’s friend… because my mum was an alcoholic. That happened at six.”
The 27-year-old checked himself into rehab after excessively drinking and consuming sleeping pills following his nightmare loan spell with Besiktas.
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.”