Alli family drama overshadows award
Despite winning the Young Player of the Year award at the recent London Football Awards, Tottenham’s Delle Alli’s off-pitch family drama has cast a shadow over his stellar season.
In new messages posted on social media, Alli’s sister, Barbara Johnson – who goes by the moniker “@deleallisnumber1fan” on Instagram – has told an extraordinary story of how the family has not seen her brother in the last two years.
After giving an interview to British newspaper, The Mirror, she wrote on Instagram: “What a heartbreaking story, hope you read this bro @delealli36, we all miss you and love you dearly, we not after your money or your fame we just want are little #Delbot back – love you lots like jelly tots (redacted).”
The 20-year-old player, who earns £60,000 (or around $104,000) a week, reportedly changed his phone number and became uncontactable since leaving his family home of Milton Keynes for Tottenham.
In what seemed to be a final parting shot, the star also chose to wear only ‘Dele’ on his shirt after claiming he felt ‘no connection’ to his surname.
Although the player has not spoken up publicly about his thoughts on the situation, it is understood that he does not plan to be in contact with them.
NO CHANCE TO MEET SON
Alli’s parents, Denise and Kehinde, who are divorced, have admitted that their attempts at meeting their son at the club’s training ground have been futile.
His mother reportedly told the newspaper she approached him after a game only for the footballer to say he was ‘busy’, while his father even paid for a stadium tour at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane in hopes of seeing him.
Barbara, seen in the above photo with her brother from their childhood, also pleaded on social media for the midfielder to mend the “rift”, which had reportedly driven the family apart, while his mother denied accusations of neglect and alcoholism.
She added: “It has been said that I was suffering from alcoholism and I gave him up because I couldn’t look after him, but that is a lie. I wanted to give him the best chance of achieving his dream, but he was still my son and I was there for him whenever he needed me.”
The superstar footballer now lives in a £2 million (or $3.4 million) mansion in a gated area of Hertfordshire with his model girlfriend, Ruby Mae.
