The Prince of Wales has heaped praise on Everton footballer Dele Alli, calling him "brave and inspirational" for speaking out about his mental health struggles.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Prince William shared a personal message after the midfielder, 27, revealed that he had suffered sexual abuse as a child and has battled a sleeping pill addiction, coming out of rehab last month.
"Brave and inspirational @dele_official," he tweeted. "Discussing mental health is not a sign of weakness. Let's keep the conversation going. We're all with you and we wish you the very best. W."
In an emotional interview with Gary Neville, England international Dele fought back tears as he revealed he was sexually abused at the age of six and was dealing drugs by the time he was eight. He recently spent six weeks in rehab due to a sleeping pill addiction and mental health issues.
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"When I came back from Turkey, I found out I needed an operation and I was in a bad place mentally," Dele told The Overlap podcast in partnership with Sky Bet. "I decided to go to a modern-day rehab facility for mental health. They deal with addiction, mental health and trauma.
© Getty"I felt like it was time for me. You can't be told to go there. You have to know and make the decision yourself or it's not going to work. I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm.
"I was waking up every day and I was winning the fight, going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy - but inside I was definitely losing the battle. It was time for me to change it."
The footballer laid bare his difficult upbringing before he was adopted by the Hickford family. Prince William has long campaigned for more openness around mental health, particularly for men, and is passionate about the importance of discussing mental health in football.
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The Aston Villa fan, who is president of the Football Association, launched a Heads Up campaign in partnership with the FA in 2020 to use the sport "to spread to message that we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health". As part of the drive, Alli featured in a short film the same year, narrated by William, which was played at the start of FA Cup matches to encourage football fans to look after their mental health.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, get in touch with mind.org.uk for support
