dele ali

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The heartbroken parents of England footballer Dele Alli today reveal their despair at having no part in the superstar’s life.

In an extraordinary interview, Dele’s mum Denise repeatedly breaks down as she tells how she now cries herself to sleep at night over the ordeal.

And his father Kehinde, a multi-millionaire businessman, tells how the only thing missing in his life is his first-born son.

Despite splitting when Dele was a child, his parents came together this week and spoke out in a desperate bid to repair their relationship with the £60,000-a-week Spurs midfielder.

As they opened up family albums to reveal happy photos of Dele’s ­childhood Kehinde, 47, told the ­Sunday Mirror: “I just do not understand what we have done wrong.

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Dele Alli is regarded as English football's brightest prospect (Image: Getty)
“He refuses to speak to me and it feels like he’s been taken from us. But I won’t give up on getting him back.”

Dele’s mum Denise, 53, added: “I’m a very miserable person because I get so sad that Dele is missing out on his family and we’re missing out on him.

“I want to be able to hug him and let him know we all love him to bits.

“I’m not interested in his money, I’d love him the same if he worked in McDonald’s. We just want our son back.”


Dele with his father Kehinde in 2010 (Image: Steve Bainbridge/Sunday Mirror)
Dele, 20, is considered English football’s biggest rising star.

He won the prestigious PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of last season and is now being linked with a mega-money move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

But while his career has rocketed since leaving home-town club Milton Keynes Dons , his relationship with his parents has completely broken down.

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The future Spurs midfielder was best man in 2006 at his father's wedding to second wife Lola (Image: Steve Bainbridge/Sunday Mirror)
Neither has been able to see him since he signed for Tottenham in ­February 2015 – an estrangement which has not only broken their hearts but left them bewildered.

Recalling him leaving, Denise said: “He was in great spirits and said, ‘I love you mum’. I had no idea that would be the last time I would see him. It still leaves me shocked.”

Last August it emerged Dele would no longer wear Alli on the back of his shirt, as he said he felt “no connection” to the name.


Mum Denise denies claims she couldn't look after Dele because she was an alcoholic (Image: Steve Bainbridge/Sunday Mirror)
The young star – red-carded against Belgian side Gent in a Europa League tie on February 23 – has also changed his mobile number and moved home.

Both Kehinde and Denise have made a series of desperate ­attempts to see Dele at Tottenham games, at the training ground and even by joining stadium tours.

Dele was born in Milton Keynes, Bucks, in April 1996 just over a year after his parents first met in a nightclub.

At the time Kehinde, originally from Nigeria, was studying for a Masters at De Montfort University.


The midfielder moved to Spurs in 2015 and is now linked with a move to Real Madrid (Image: Getty)
He and Denise, then a full-time mum of two, married after a whirlwind romance. They broke up three years after Dele was born. In 2000 Kehinde moved to Canada for work, returning to the UK regularly.

Despite the distance the couple stayed close, with Kehinde ­supporting Denise and all her children. When Dele was eight, Kehinde moved back to his home city of Lagos.

The youngster – a prince of Nigeria’s Yoruba tribe through birth – soon moved there to join him.

They lived in a 10-room mansion where Dele led a life of luxury, being waited on by three maids and attending a private £20,000-a-year international school.