Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has admitted that there have been challenges to living his life under the scrutiny of the public eye as a result of his achievements on the football pitch in the last few years.
Alli arrived at Spurs from MK Dons in the summer of 2015 and very few people expected the youngster to break into the Spurs team straight away.
However, he quickly established himself as an important part of the team and flourished under the management of Mauricio Pochettino and helped the Lilywhites challenge for the title in his first two seasons at the club.
Sucess with Tottenham and subsequently with England saw the 23-year-old quickly gain superstar status.
However, the midfielder’s form has dropped off in the last couple of seasons and he has come under criticism for his performances.
The England star was also in the middle of further controversy recently after he posted a video on Snapchat where he appeared to mock an Asian man regarding the spread of the coronavirus (Mirror).
Although he has apologised for the video, he could be punished by the Football Asociation for his actions (BBC).
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The midfielder has now admitted that he is trying to learn from the mistakes he has made.
In an interview with the Otro YouTube channel, the Spurs star said: “After I started playing for the national team a lot of people would stop me and ask for pictures.
“A year before, I was a normal kid from Milton Keynes who could go anywhere and do whatever I wanted without being noticed.
“But when you join the Premier League you start to get noticed and you have to be a role model.
“I’ve always tried to live my life as a good person but I’ve made a lot of mistakes and it’s all about adapting and learning from them.
“I’m still young and each experience is a new one for me, so it’s important to have good people around you — and I’ve always had that growing up.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is sometimes easy for fans to forget that footballers too are human beings and judge them by a different standard. While it is true that many of them are role models, as young men, some of them are going to make missteps. The fact that the media relishes bringing these players down when they make a mistake, puts them in an even more difficult situation.
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