Dele Alli and Gary Neville both get emotional as midfielder opens up on mental health problems

Dele Alli and Gary Neville both ended up in tears as the Everton midfielder opened up on the issues he's had and the fact he considered retiring from football.

It's been a tough few years on the pitch for Alli, that all kicked off from a discussion with Jose Mourinho that was shown during the All or Nothing docuseries about Tottenham Hotspur.

After falling out of favour in north London he ended up at Everton but that stint hasn't gone according to plan either and he spent last season on loan at Besiktas.

Even his time in Turkey couldn't reignite the scenes of the young Alli who was tearing teams apart as a teenager in the Premier League.

After requiring surgery on his hip earlier in the year the 27-year-old is now back in training for Everton and looking to make a good impression.

Now in an interview with Neville he's opened up on how he's been affected by trauma in recent years and considered ending his career, as you can see in the clip below.

"Where was the point where you started to feel it wasn’t right?", Neville asked the midfielder.

"Like one morning I woke up. I had to go to training, this is when he’d [Mourinho] stopped playing me," Alli explained, "I remember just looking in the mirror. I mean it sounds dramatic, but I was literally just staring in the mirror and I was asking if I could retire now at 24?

"You know, doing the thing I love.

"For me that was heartbreaking.

"It’s always been me against myself in everything. I was winning the fight, smiling, showing that I was happy, but inside I was definitely losing the battle.

"Trauma is trauma and your body registers it in the same way no matter what it is.

"If you knew about my life you would understand that a bit more.

"I want to help other people to know they’re not alone in the feelings they’ve got and it doesn’t make you weak to get help."

No doubt Everton fans will be hoping that he can work out his issues and return to being the player he once was, though one issue may be how much the club have to pay after a few more appearances for them.

If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.