Dele: "Now is the Time to Talk"
The Overlap
The Overlap
4.3 • 571 Ratings
🗓️ 16 July 2023
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Trigger warning: Sexual abuse, addiction and mental health.
In this powerful episode of The Overlap, Gary Neville sits down to have a heartfelt conversation with Dele, as he courageously speaks about his recent circumstances on and off the pitch and the profound challenges he endured throughout his childhood and long-lasting effects of trauma it has caused him.
Dele opens up about his recent battle with addiction and his remarkable journey of rehabilitation as well his unwavering aspiration to inspire those facing similar circumstances to speak up.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What was the point where you started to feel that it wasn't right? |
| 0:03.0 | Like one morning I woke up, I had to go training. |
| 0:05.0 | This was when he'd stopped playing me. |
| 0:07.0 | I remember just looking in the mirror. |
| 0:08.0 | I mean, it sounds dramatic, but I was literally staring in the mirror. |
| 0:11.0 | And I was asking if I could retire now. |
| 0:15.0 | At 24, you know, doing the thing I love. |
| 0:18.0 | For me, that was heartbreaking. |
| 0:25.6 | It's always been me against myself and everything. I was winning the fight, smiling, showing that I was happy. |
| 0:29.6 | But inside I was definitely losing the battle. |
| 0:32.6 | Trauma is trauma, and your body registers it in the same way, |
| 0:36.6 | no matter what it is. If you knew about my life, you would understand that a little bit more. |
| 0:40.3 | I want to help other people to know that they're not alone in the feelings they've got |
| 0:45.3 | and doesn't make you weak to get help. |
| 0:58.8 | Today we're going to interview deli alley i worked with deli whilst i was with england as a coach i absolutely loved him when he was |
| 1:05.1 | with england he was playing under rickshaw potatino at spurs just in that number 10 role wasn't it |
| 1:09.6 | running forward always joining harry kane i just thought that number 10 role, wasn't it, running forward, always joining Harry Kane. |
| 1:12.9 | I just thought it was the real deal. |
| 1:25.8 | You know, it was almost like a modern-day Brian Robson, modern-day Roy Keane, in terms of a box-to-box midfield player. But it has, no doubt, changed since 2018, 19. in the last few years, Delis, you know, |
| 1:27.2 | obviously from a football perspective, |
| 1:28.5 | got nowhere near the levels that he was playing at |
| 1:29.5 | back in that sort of mid-2015, 16 season. So, you know, we want to know why that is. You know, I'm concerned about him because when I see someone drop off like he has, from the ability that he has, then you always think what's going on in the lad's life. It's been a blip and I have to say there's a fascination with him still, I think. People want to ask that question, what's happened, Deli? Are you okay? Deli and his team have reached out in this last few days to say that it is the right time now to speak and we're obviously delighted to bring him in today to talk about it. It'll be a very |
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