Tearful Eric Dier reveals pain at watching Dele Alli’s heartbreaking tell-all interview and says: I wish I’d done more

ERIC DIER could barely get his words out as he repeatedly broke down in tears talking about his old pal Dele Alli.

As he fought to compose himself, the one thing the England defender kept coming back to was: I wish I had done more to help him.

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Eric Dier and Dele Alli remain close pals after being team-mates for Spurs and England, with highs and lows on the pitch including a World Cup semi-final exitCredit: AFP

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Gary Neville comforts Alli during his extremely frank interview

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The 37-cap midfielder is back training with Everton, trying to rebuild his careerCredit: Instagram @everton

Dele shocked the football world earlier this month when he revealed he was sexually abused aged six, sold drugs at eight and became addicted to sleeping pills as a professional footballer.

Dier and Dele played together at Tottenham for seven years and became very close.

An emotional Dier told SunSport: “It was difficult to watch, upsetting.

“My overwhelming feeling is probably that I’m upset that I didn’t do more.”

Asked if he had known about the horrendous experiences Dele had been through as a child growing up in Milton Keynes, Dier replied: “No, I wasn’t aware of it.

“There were things that I was and wasn’t aware of.

“A long time ago, I went to Milton Keynes with him and he showed me around where he grew up.

“He showed me everything so I was aware of the frame of the picture… but not the picture itself.”

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Dele was 19 when he joined Spurs in 2015, when a 21-year-old Dier had already been there for a season.

They became big mates and goofed around in social media exchanges as they went on to star for club and country.

Dele praised Dier during his heartbreaking interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast, saying: “He’s a great friend and you realise who your real friends are — people that don’t just say yes.”

The Everton midfielder, 27, recounted a confrontation he had with “brutally-honest” Dier and Spurs team-mate Harry Kane when he started going off the rails.

Dele confessed that he was partying excessively and his sleeping-tablet addiction was taking hold.

And it was Dele’s revelation of how Dier tried to help him that first caused the current Tottenham star to cry in our chat at a children’s charity event in Singapore.

Dier apologised for not being able to answer at first.

Then, with his voice trembling, Dier eventually said: “He’s been a great friend to me as well, you know? He just has been.”

Dele went to a rehabilitation clinic for six weeks this summer to deal with his sleeping-pill addiction but did attend Dier and his partner Anna’s wedding.

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Their happy times at Spurs included a 3-0 home win over Man Utd in April 2016Credit: Getty Images – Getty

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Eric Dier takes part in an art class with participants from Children’s Wishing WellCredit: Tottenham Hotspur FC

Dier said: “When he was in rehab — and I knew he was in rehab — I spoke to him a few times  and I messaged him, because I was having my wedding… ”

At that point the 29-year-old had to stop as the emotion overwhelmed him.

He continued: “I said to him, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to make it’ (to the wedding) because obviously I knew what he was going through.

“And the first thing was that he was insulted that I’d asked him if he was going to be there.

“It was like it was unimaginable that he wasn’t going to be there, even though everything he was going through. That’s the type of person he is, you know?

“Dele has a heart of gold, he really does. I’m upset with myself and disappointed with myself that I didn’t do more.

“He’s a great friend to me as well, it’s not all one way.

“He has done many things over the course of time that mean a lot to me. I know that I could call him right now if I needed him to be here in Singapore and he’d come. That’s the kind of friend he is.”

He’s still so young. He can still do whatever he wants, that’s the beauty of football. It really is in his hands.

Dier on Dele

Dele is back training with Everton and believes he can get back to the level when he was at the peak of his powers for Tottenham and England.

He was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year in each of his first two seasons with Tottenham and was a key player in the Three Lions’ run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

Dier, who featured in the 2019 Champions League final with Dele, added: “I think he’s probably in the best place he’s ever been.

“Obviously that’s what everyone wants. He’s still so young.

“He can still do whatever he wants to do, that’s the beauty of football. It’s up to him. It really is in his hands.

“It’s always in our hands as players to control whatever we can control.

“Obviously the manager will make decisions and clubs will make decisions, but as players all we can do is control what we can control.

“That’s giving ourselves the best chance to be able to play and play well.”

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