Why I fell out with my Nigerian father, British mother – Dele Alli

Everton winger Dele Alli has offered insights into how he fell out with his Nigerian father Kehinde.

He said the separation between 54-year-old Kehinde and 60-year-old mom Denise affected his upbringing, stating he felt ‘betrayed’ by them.

The former Tottenham player said he no longer speaks to his biological parents despite efforts to reconcile with him.

In a candid interview with former England international Gary Neville, he opened up on a number of moving topics, including childhood abuse and an addiction to sleeping tablets which he recently entered rehab for.

Dele also touched on his mum, 60-year-old Denise, and dad, 54-year-old Kehinde, who is a multi-millionaire businessman in Nigeria and a prince of the African nation’s Yoruba tribe.

The pair split when he was young, leading to a tumultuous childhood which has had a major impact on his life ever since. Dele’s mum, who was an alcoholic, gained custody of him.

He revealed he was molested by one of her friends at six, became involved in dealing drugs aged eight before he moved to live with his dad in Lagos.

Reflecting on that period of his life, when he is said to have attended a private £20,000-a-year international school, Dele said on The Overlap: “My dad, my blood dad, lived in Africa.

“And then I got sent to him. I was meant to stay there for a year. It was horrible. I didn’t want to be there at all. Nothing against, you know where I was, but just going from what I was living in, because we had no money – mum had no money.

“There was always like 10 guys, like just around, like just in the house. Yeah, like it was definitely like the drugs, but yeah, so there was that.

“And then it was just a big culture change, and I didn’t want to be there, so I’d be a little bit naughtier and then after six months I got sent back.”

Dele ultimately ended up living with Alan and Sally Hickford, the parents of one of his team-mates in the MK Dons academy. He refers to them as his adoptive family, although that’s never legally been the case. Nation