In an interview with ex-player Gary Neville, footballer Dele Alli has spoken candidly about some of the childhood trauma he suffered and the personal challenges he has overcome over the years. Alli explained in the interview that he was not ready to talk about what he had been through, but that he was doing so now because he was being pursued by tabloid newspapers and wanted to speak about his experiences on his own terms.

It is appalling that Alli felt compelled to come forward with very personal information about his life - including a childhood sexual assault - before he was ready, because he felt targeted by tabloid newspapers. No-one should have to reveal the things he did because they feared "exposure" from the press.

His interview also included his concerns that newspapers have misrepresented the truth about his life in the past.

You can watch the full interview here, and some of Alli's comments are below.

If I’m being honest I probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk about it this soon. I think maybe, give it a little bit more time. But I am feeling in a really good place, and I feel strong enough to do this. I think it’s important.

Maybe I could have done with a little bit more time, in terms of when I was talking about it, but unfortunately the way the world is now, you know, the tabloids, they found out and they were calling my team a lot and they were telling… you know, that they knew where I was and stuff, and the decision that I maybe [would have] made in the past, when I didn’t really care about what people thought, and I didn’t care about being understood, I would have just let them write what they wanted to write, and you know, put their own story on, which they do a lot of the time.

But it’s not the reality, and also you know, I want to help other people to know that they're not alone in the feelings they've got and that you can talk to people. It doesn't make you weak to get help. To be vulnerable. There’s a lot of strength in that.…I think it’s something that I needed to explain and get off my chest, and I wanted to say in the way I felt was the truth.

Because like I said, people write stuff and they can word it however they want, and I’m sure they will. I’m sure they will choose headlines from this and choose whatever they want to write. What is it, “clickbait”? They’ll use those headlines.

Neville: You’re very sceptical of the media, aren’t you? I notice that about all the young players, even when I was playing with England, and we were very sceptical. I’m in the media now so I say that, obviously having been a player.

No, because I’ve read so many stories about myself that [are] not true at all.