Dele: I was losing the battle - getting help doesn't make you weak

Dele has opened up about his struggles with mental health and addiction, urging people to ask for help and not suffer alone.

The Everton midfielder has revealed he was abused when he was six years old, started smoking aged seven and was dealing drugs when he was eight, before being adopted. More recently, the 27-year-old has struggled with an addiction to sleeping pills.

Deciding to get help, he spent six weeks in rehab this summer. He has shared his story in the hope it can inspire others to seek assistance, something he wants to be viewed as a sign of strength.

"It’s always been me against myself in everything - I was winning the fight, smiling, showing I was happy, but inside I was definitely losing the battle," Dele reveals, speaking to Gary Neville in The Overlap.

"I want to help other people to know they’re not alone in the feelings they’ve got. It doesn’t make you weak, to get help."

Dele burst on to the Premier League scene with Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 50 goals across five seasons from 2015 to 2020, twice winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award. 

But over the past few years his career has stuttered. He failed to make an impression after moving to Everton in February 2022, and last season endured a tough loan spell at Besiktas. Those struggles added to the years of trauma from his childhood.

"I’m scared to talk about it but I think it’s the right thing to do," he says.

"One morning I woke up and had to go training. I remember I was staring in the mirror, asking if I could retire. At 24. Doing the thing I love. For me that was heartbreaking. 

'I was in a bad cycle'

"When I came back from Turkey I found out I needed an operation. I was in a bad place mentally. I decided to go to a modern rehab facility that deals with addiction and mental health and trauma. I felt it was time for me. You can't be told to go there, you have to make the decision yourself.

"I was in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm. So I went there for six weeks."

Dele says Everton supported him 100 per cent, something he'll "be forever grateful for", and wants to share his experience as a positive for others.

"For them to be so honest and understanding, I couldn't ask for anything more during a time I was making the biggest decision of my life, doing something I was scared to do. I'm happy I've done it," he adds.

'I want to help other people'

"There is a stigma around it and it's something people don't want to do. Going into rehab is scary but I could never have imagined how much I would get from it and how much it would help.

"Going there and learning about it, it was never really under my control. Understanding and learning it has helped. I let go of some bad feelings I was holding which were slowing me down and holding me back.

"I want to help other people to know they’re not alone. You can talk to people. It doesn’t make you weak to get help, be vulnerable. There’s a lot of strength in that. 

"Going away and talking about it and understanding it more, I did need help. I couldn’t do it by myself any more. That’s what people need to understand. We’re definitely stronger as humans together. You don’t have to deal with everything alone."

Dele is set to return to Everton ahead of the 2023/24 season, and he says he is now doing so with a new-found level of passion and determination. 

“I know what I can do on the pitch. I’ve showed people what I can do on the pitch," he says.

"And now I’ve got the feeling back like before I went to Tottenham, when I had a lot to prove and I wanted to fight and I had so much love and passion about football.  But with the other side of it I want to inspire people not only on the pitch but off the pitch, in a way that probably isn’t spoken about enough, from experience.”  

Everton have said on Twitter: "The club has been supporting Dele in both his return to fitness and overcoming the personal challenges highlighted in his interview with The Overlap.

"Everyone at Everton respects and applauds Dele’s bravery to speak about the difficulties he has faced, as well as seek the help required.

"The physical and mental welfare of all our players is of paramount importance. The club takes very seriously its responsibility in protecting the confidentiality of players and staff.

"Dele will not be conducting any further interviews in relation to his rehabilitation, and we ask that his privacy is respected while he continues his recuperation from injury and receives the full care and support needed for his physical and mental wellbeing."

If you've been affected by this story and want to speak to someone about your mental health, Shout offers a free, confidential 24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope. The service was launched in 2019 and has since helped hundreds of thousands of people.

See: Premier League's Stay Well Hub