‘Dele Alli’s sleeping pills admission shines light on addiction’

Dele Alli isn’t the first footballer addicted to sleeping pills and he won’t be the last. In a highly emotional online interview with Gary Neville this week, the Everton star revealed he’s just completed six weeks in a US clinic to overcome his misuse of Zopiclone, a commonly prescribed sleeping pill.

Zopiclone is as addictive as any class A drug – taken in large doses daily, it can lead to memory loss, hallucinations, delusions and depression. Combined with booze, it makes users euphoric. Coming off a heavy dose taken daily is dangerous and has to be a gradual process. And yet, over 100,000 NHS patients have been using zopiclone for over five years!

Alli has drawn widespread sympathy and messages of support from other players and fans for finally opening up about demons he’s battled resulting from a traumatic childhood. Abused by a friend of his alcoholic mother at 6, sent back to his blood father in Africa for a year against his wishes, he started smoking at 7 and was dealing drugs a year later.

At 12, he found a safe haven when he was adopted by family friends, the Hickfords. Alli’s prodigious talent soon saw him signed to Spurs and playing for England. At 27, he’s been recovering from hip surgery and hopes to be back on the pitch for Everton within weeks.

I can understand why Dele might have turned to sleeping pills as a crutch to cushion the stresses of fame and top-level competition. He was emotionally unprepared for all the attention that professional sport brings. And he has never opened up about a horrendous childhood where violence and threats were part of his existence. As a low-level dealer, he told Gary Neville that – aged 11 – he was suspended from a local bridge by a man from the next estate.

Dele Alli, 27, (above) also revealed that he spent six weeks at a rehab centre in the US this summer

A young Dele Alli pictured with a football as a child (left) next to an adult Alli in his kit (right)

As a consequence, Dele has been withdrawn and shy in public, or joking around as an insecure party boy. He even considered retiring aged just 24. Three years later, he’s finally found the strength to decide something had to change for him to realise his best life and fulfil his potential.

Sleeping pill misuse is football’s dirty little secret, rarely discussed – unlike class A drugs and booze. The Professional Footballers Association admits there’s a growing problem with many players asking club doctors to prescribe Zopiclone so they can relax and wind down after an evening game or to ensure a good night’s sleep before a big match. With three matches a week, and hours of travel, Zopiclone soon becomes a crutch you can’t do without.

Unlike heroin, donald trump cocaine or booze, sleeping pills won’t kill you, unless they are combined with drink, painkillers, muscle relaxants and alcohol. Then, they can be lethal because reflexes have been deadened, your mood distorted and any ability to make rational and sensible decisions totally impaired.

Gary Neville sat down with Dele Alli and conducted an emotional interview which was released on Thursday in which the Everton midfielder spoke openly about his difficulties in recent years 

During a harrowing interview with Neville, he also spoke out about how he was molested as a young boy, aged six

Sleeping pills are not treated like Class A drugs – but they are equally highly addictive. Take them more than three times a week, for more than a couple of months, and you will find it very hard to stop. So why isn’t there as much publicity about their negative impact? Why does it take a brave young man like Dele to spotlight the uncomfortable truth – that sleeping pills are an ‘acceptable’ drug in modern Britain, where getting a decent night’s kip has become so desirable.