Dele Alli’s close pal, Eric Dier, has admitted he wished he did more for his friend after learning of his shocking upbringing.
Last year, Alli spoke to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast in one of the most raw interviews in living memory where he revealed his traumatic upbringing.
The 27-year-old has struggled for form and injuries in recent years and remains on the books at Everton while he received massive support after his honest interview.
Alli did reveal how close pals including Harry Kane and Dier remained supportive from their time together at Tottenham.
And Dier has now revealed that he wished he could have done more for his mate and was shocked to learn of how he grew up.
Speaking on Sky Bet’s latest episode of The Overlap with Neville, Dier said: “It’s difficult for me to talk about Dele.
“I speak to him all the time, every week, obviously it (the Gary Neville interview) was just very difficult to watch.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the whole video, I’ve seen bits of it but it’s difficult for me to watch. He said some nice things about me, but it works both ways.
Speaking to Neville, Dier expressed regret for not doing enough as he said: “I’m disappointed that I didn’t do more. In many situations that I look back on I wasn’t aware of the full picture and there’s a lot of things.
“I was that annoying older person, I would always be on his case so he would hide things from me, or tell me something but give just 20 per cent of it.
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“I have a lot of regrets and there were certain times that I wish I did more.”
Alli has had to go to rehab after becoming addicted to sleeping pills and Dier opened up in one anecdote that speaks volumes of the player’s personality.
The Bayern Munich defender added: “He’s also been a great friend to me. It annoys me a little because people after that interview would talk to me, but he’s been a great friend to me as well. Dele is a special person.
“I remember, I was getting married and knew that he was in America, in rehab, and I spoke to him a few times and said that there would be no problem if he couldn’t come and he was almost insulted, he came and was there for me. That’s the type of friend he’s been to me.”
Alli was regarded as one of England’s most talented youngsters after Tottenham signed him from MK Dons in 2015.
For three years, Alli was being compared to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for his astronomical ability and his goalscoring threat despite being so young, scoring 22 goals in 2016/17 when he was still yet to turn 21.
According to CIES, he was regarded as the world’s most expensive midfielder but his form faded after 2018, losing his spot in the England side and eventually Tottenham’s before signing for Everton in 2022 where he remains sidelined still.
Alli underwent hip surgery in February 2022 and has not played football since.