English soccer player Dele Alli was in rehab for sleeping-pill addiction for six weeks

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Dele Alli spent six weeks in rehab in the United States in a bid to deal with mental-health problems stemming from a traumatic childhood and after getting addicted to sleeping pills.

Alli was one of English soccer’s biggest talents, a member of the England team that reached the World Cup semifinals in 2018 after a period when he was a star of Mauricio Pochettino’s young Tottenham side that nearly won the Premier League.

However, the attacking midfielder’s career has derailed in recent years and he chose to give an interview with former England defender Gary Neville to open up on the issues that have been affecting him.

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Dele Alli of Besiktas JK looks on during the Turkish Super Lig match between Fatih Karagumruk SK and Besiktas JK at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on January 31, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey  (BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Among them, Alli said in an episode of The Overlap released Thursday, was a reliance on sleeping pills which he said he was taking "just to escape from reality."

"It’s been going on for a long time, without me realizing it, the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had. I didn’t realize I was doing it for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever," he said.

"There are things a lot of people do but if you abuse it and use it in the wrong way and you’re not actually doing it for the pleasure, you’re doing it to try and chase something or hide from something, it can obviously damage you a lot. I got addicted to sleeping tablets and it’s probably a problem that not only I have. I think it’s something that's going around more than people realize in