Paul Gascoigne has admitted that he feels like a 'sad drunk' due to his ongoing struggle to stay sober. homeless He has effectively been rendered homeless as a result of his efforts to stay sober.
The former England The well-known footballer, who is seen as one of the most talented of his generation, is currently living in the spare room of his agent, Katie Davies, and has resumed attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
During an appearance on the High Performance podcast , Gascoigne acknowledged that he has 'bad days' when he turns to alcohol.He mentioned, 'I used to be a happy drunk, but not anymore. I'm a sad drunk. I don't go out to drink, I do it at home. If I want to make it a bad day, all I need to do is go down to the pub. If I want it to be a good day, I get my fishing rod out and go fishing.'
Gascoigne further added, 'It's not the drinking that's the problem, it's what happens afterwards. When I look at my phone after and see 30 messages or missed calls, I know I'm in trouble. But I've been okay. Last year wasn't great, I had some ups and downs for a couple of months.' flying He reflected, 'I went to a meeting the other night, so that was alright. Just an AA meeting. I went with a friend and it was okay. They're harmless.'
Paul Gascoigne gained national hero status following his performances at the 1990 World Cup, where his efforts helped the Three Lions reach the semi-finals before Sir Bobby Robson’s side were defeated on penalties by West Germany in a heartbreaking manner.
At present, Paul Gascoigne is residing in the spare room of his agent Katie Davies (Picture: Getty)
The fame and notoriety that followed Italia 90, combined with the serious knee injury he suffered the following year in the FA Cup final while playing for Spurs against Nottingham Forest, led to his life spiraling out of control.
Discussing his ongoing struggles, he stated: 'I've never been to rehab for drugs ever, and probably for alcohol I've been two or three times, the others, I've been for Calpol. I went to rehab because I couldn’t get off Calpol.
Calpol contains 0.0001 percent of alcohol, so I thought if I have 20 bottles of it, that’s the equivalent of a pint.'
When he was told not to come back, Gazza recalled saying: 'Listen, I've got three wives and nine kids, I need Calpol.' It was crazy.'
He added: 'People know Paul Gascoigne, but Gazza, no one knows, not 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 for England.'
He mentioned: '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.
He said, '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.'
‘When I speak at these events, I hardly discuss football, it's more about the wild things I used to do. I have to quickly engage and get them to laugh.
‘There have been a few occasions when I've cried while on stage. I can be quite emotionally sensitive. Sometimes it doesn't take long for us to cry.
‘I hold a lot of things in, things that I should share but I'm afraid to share with people. I don't think I'll ever grow up, and I'm okay with that.
‘I used to be a happy drunk, but not anymore. Now I'm a sad drunk.’
‘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?’
