Paul Gascoigne: I’m a sad drunk living in my agent’s spare room
Former England star says he ‘used to be a happy drunk’ but now has ‘bad days’ if he goes to the pub
Gascoigne said: “I used to be a happy drunk, I ain’t anymore”
HIGH PERFORMANCE APP
Martin Hardy
Tuesday March 05 2024, 8.10pm, The Times
Paul Gascoigne has revealed he is back attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and is living in the spare room of his agent’s house in Dorset.
The 56-year-old, who was capped 57 times by England, also admitted he has started drinking at the Poole home of Katie Davies, his agent.
Speaking on the
High Performance podcast, Gascoigne said he has “bad days” when he turns to alcohol.
“I used to be a happy drunk, I ain’t anymore,” he said. “I’m a sad drunk. I don’t go out and drink, I drink indoors. If I want to make it a bad day, [all I need to do is] go down the pub. If I want it to be a good day, I get my flying rod out and go fishing.
“It’s not the drinking, it’s the afterwards. Looking at my phone after and seeing 30 messages or missed calls, I know I’m in trouble. But I’ve been all right. Last year wasn’t brilliant, was off and on for a couple of months.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I went to a meeting the other night so that was all right. Just an AA meeting. I went with a friend and that was OK. They’re all right, harmless.”
Gascoigne’s life has been one of turmoil since he burst into Newcastle United’s first team at the age of 18. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur, starred at the Italia ’90 World Cup, agreed a deal with Lazio and wrecked his knee with a horrendous challenge in the 1991 FA Cup final against Nottingham Forest. Since then Gascoigne has battled a series of addictions and looks frail as a consequence.
Gascoigne appeared on ITV’s This Morning last April
KEN MCKAY/ITV/REX
“People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows, even me sometimes,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of years being down, when I did my ligaments and then my kneecap, I missed four years of football. I would’ve got 100 caps [for England].
“I try not to get down because the world’s already down enough and when I’m really down, that’s when I pick up a drink to cheer myself up.
“I don’t think I let any managers down, or the players or the fans, you know. If there was anyone I let down, it was myself. But more the drinking side of it, when I finished playing.”
Gascoigne added: “I called Katie [Davies] up in November a few years ago crying my eyes out. What I put myself through and other people — jail and rehab, taking cocaine off toilet seats — and then I’m asked to be ambassador for my country, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Gascoigne met the Prince of Wales in Bournemouth last September as part of William’s anti-homelessness initiative, Homewards
CHRIS JACKSON/PA
“When I do these venues [speaking engagements], I hardly talk about football, more the crazy stuff I used to get up to. I’ve got to get straight in and get them laughing.
“There’s a few times when I’ve cried on stage. I can be emotionally soft. It doesn’t take long for us to cry sometimes. I keep a lot of stuff in, stuff I should share but get scared of sharing with people. I don’t think I’ll ever grow up, which I don’t mind, you know?”