#paul-gascoigne

#paul-gascoigne

At Middlesbrough, I drove the team bus out of the garage, but that lasted about 100 yards, he recalls to FourFourTwo. Gazza won 57 England caps (Image credit: Getty Images) Bryan Robson was like, Gazza, where's the bus?' I said. It's in the f**king trees, gaffer, it's f**ked.' He said, Gazza, that's a 400,000 bus' Gazza's former England team-mate should have known that he had form in this matter.

He says one person even dropped to the ground in worship not long ago at a supermarket. Some guy walked up behind me with his two kids, got on his knees and started crying, he tells FourFourTwo. I thought, Get up mate, your kids will think I f**king hit you!' He was crying his eyes out. I get that a lot with fans.

I'd never met him I said, F**ck me' and stopped the taxi. I went up to him he was sitting on his own, having a steak. He said, F**king hell, sit down mate, how are you doing? Do you want something to eat?' I said, No, I'm not hungry, I'll have a drink though.' He said, OK, I'll go and get you one,' so he went for the drink and I ate his f**king steak.

Gascoigne's new book is called Eight, not just for the number he wore during his playing career, but also because he addresses the emotions he experienced during his life. It's about my eight demons, everything I've had to face up to, he told FourFourTwo. I've conquered most of them. The rest are hard to conquer, but I just try to deal with them the best I can.

Paul Gascoigne battled off-field issues for his entire career, and his luck didn't fare much better on the pitch. Good fortune clearly wasn't necessary for England's foremost mercurial talent, however, as he still ranks no.2 FourFourTwo's list of the best English midfielders ever. Despite persistent injury problems, adding to an already complex personal life, his raw talent shone through, and he remains one of the best players the country has ever produced.

I did a couple of venues with him what a shame, a great guy, a great character. He was like myself, he gave his time up for anybody and he'd give his last penny away. It was heartbreaking.