Paul Gascoigne has described himself as a “sad drunk” and said he is living in his agent’s spare room, as the football legend revealed the extent of his battle with alcohol addiction.
The former England midfielder, four years after having surgery to prevent him from consuming alcohol, says he continues to drink, often alone at home. He says he “let myself down” by turning to alcohol after he finished his playing career.
“I used to be a happy drunk, I ain’t any more … I’m a sad drunk,” Gascoigne told the High Performance podcast. “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.
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“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.”
Recognised as one of the most talented English players of all time, Gascoigne was a massive cultural figure during the 1990s, but his life since has become publicly defined by his addictions. He helped England to a World Cup semi-final in 1990 on the way to earning 57 caps. His club career included spells at Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers, Everton and Middlesbrough.
Gascoigne said he had recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and suggested struggles with his mental health dated back to the knee injury he sustained while playing for Spurs in the 1991 FA Cup final.
“I went to a meeting the other night so that was all right,” Gascoigne said. “Just an AA meeting. I went with a friend and that was OK. They’re all right, harmless.
“People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows, even me sometimes. 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.”
Gascoigne added: “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.”
In 2020 Gascoigne revealed he had spent £20,000 on having pellets sewn into the lining of his stomach that would make him feel sick if he had a drink, saying he was “the happiest I’ve been for many years”. In his latest interview, however, Gascoigne revealed his problems had endured.
Gascoigne told the podcast that he now lived at the house of his agent Katie Davies in Poole, Dorset. “I called Katie 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.”
• In the UK, Action on Addiction is available on 0300 330 0659. In the US, call or text SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 988. In Australia, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is at 1800 250 015; families and friends can seek help at Family Drug Support Australia at 1300 368 186
