96 Facts About Paul Gascoigne

Broadly regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of all time, Gascoigne is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talented English footballer of his generation".

Paul Gascoigne switched to Everton in 2000, and later had spells with Burnley, Gansu Tianma and Boston United.

Paul Gascoigne represented the England national team from 1988 to 1998, in which he was capped 57 times and scored ten goals.

Paul Gascoigne was part of the England team that reached fourth place in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, where he famously cried after receiving a yellow card in the semi-final with West Germany, which meant he would have been suspended for the final had England won the game.

Paul Gascoigne helped the team to the semi-finals of Euro 96, which included scoring a goal against Scotland, described in 2013 as "one of the most iconic goals in the game's recent history".

Paul Gascoigne has been involved in a number of high-profile goal celebrations at both club and international level, including the "dentist's chair" celebration from Euro 96, and mimicking playing the flute with Rangers in 1998, a reference to the Protestant Orange Order.

Paul Gascoigne has been jailed or sectioned on numerous occasions and his struggles receive regular coverage in the British press.

Paul Gascoigne has frequently attempted to live without alcohol, though rehabilitation programmes have provided only temporary relief.

Paul Gascoigne was born in Gateshead, County Durham, on 27 May 1967.

Paul Gascoigne's father, John, was a hod carrier, and his mother, Carol, worked in a factory.

Paul Gascoigne was named Paul John Gascoigne in tribute to Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the Beatles.

Paul Gascoigne attended Breckenbeds Junior High School, then the Heathfield Senior High School, both in the Low Fell area of Gateshead.

Paul Gascoigne was noticed by football scouts while playing for Gateshead Boys, though failed to impress in a trial at Ipswich Town.

Paul Gascoigne frequently got into trouble with his friend, Jimmy "Five Bellies" Gardner.

When he was ten, Paul Gascoigne witnessed the death of Steven Spraggon, the younger brother of a friend, who was killed in a traffic collision.

Paul Gascoigne began developing obsessions and twitches, and was taken into therapy, but soon quit the therapy sessions after his father expressed doubts over the treatment methods.

Paul Gascoigne developed an addiction to gaming machines, frequently spending all his money on them, and began shoplifting to fund his addiction.

Paul Gascoigne experienced further tragedy when a friend, whom he had encouraged to join Newcastle United from Middlesbrough, died whilst he was working for Gascoigne's uncle on a building site.

Tinnion explained that though Paul Gascoigne eventually became the stand out, by the age of 15, most felt that Ian Bogie would be the top player out of this particular Newcastle youth set up.

Paul Gascoigne enjoyed football, and later wrote that "I didn't have twitches or worry about death when I was playing football".

Paul Gascoigne was signed on as an apprentice at Newcastle on his 16th birthday.

Paul Gascoigne was usually overweight whilst signed to the Newcastle youth side.

Jack Charlton, the Newcastle manager, claimed Paul Gascoigne was "a bit chubby" and looked anything but a footballer.

Paul Gascoigne noted that Gascoigne showed early signs of being gaffe-prone and a prankster.

Paul Gascoigne then trained for ten days wrapped in a black bag.

Teammate Joe Allon stated that Newcastle were unusually poor in the first leg, but in the second leg, Paul Gascoigne was instrumental in Newcastle's victory.

Paul Gascoigne did travel to Norwich, though Charlton chose not to pick him.

Newcastle finished 11th in the First Division that season and, at the end of it, Paul Gascoigne was featured on the front cover of the Rothmans Football Yearbook.

In 1988, on the BBC programme Football Focus, Newcastle's then all-time top scorer, Jackie Milburn, stated that Paul Gascoigne was "the best player in the world".

Paul Gascoigne promised Alex Ferguson that he would sign for Manchester United.

Paul Gascoigne was named as the club's Player of the Year.

Paul Gascoigne's final was to end in injury however as 15 minutes into the game he committed a dangerous knee-high foul on Gary Charles and ruptured his own cruciate ligaments in his right knee.

England teammate Stuart Pearce scored from the resultant free-kick, and Paul Gascoigne subsequently collapsed after the kick-off, forcing him to leave the match on a stretcher.

Paul Gascoigne made his Serie A debut on 27 September 1992 in a match against Genoa, which was televised in Britain as well as Italy.

Paul Gascoigne failed to fully settle in Italy and was beset by negative media interest which was not helped by the numerous occasions he punched reporters, and the time when he belched down a microphone on live television.

Paul Gascoigne was well received by the club's fans, but not by the club's owner Sergio Cragnotti, who resented him after Gascoigne greeted him by saying "Tua figlia, grande tette".

Paul Gascoigne broke his cheekbone whilst on international duty in April 1993, and had to play the remaining games of the season in a mask.

Paul Gascoigne went on an extreme weight loss diet and succeeded in shedding the excess fat.

In one spell out injured Zoff told Paul Gascoigne to go on holiday to recuperate.

Paul Gascoigne explained to Zoff he did not want to go on holiday.

Pierluigi Casiraghi later reasoned Paul Gascoigne was the culprit who placed Zeman's whistle on the goose.

Rangers went on to win the Scottish Premier Division, clinching the title in the penultimate game of the season against Aberdeen at Ibrox Stadium; Paul Gascoigne scored a hat-trick including two solo efforts.

Paul Gascoigne scored 19 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions, and was named as both PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year.

Paul Gascoigne claimed hat-tricks against Kilmarnock and Motherwell, and ended the campaign with 17 goals in 34 games.

Paul Gascoigne was welcomed to Ibrox by Gascoigne, who defecated in Gattuso's sock as a prank.

Paul Gascoigne would buy Gattuso his club suits under the pretence Rangers were paying for them; Gattuso found out many months later from other sources that it was Paul Gascoigne who secretly paid the bill.

In November 1997, Paul Gascoigne received a five-match ban after being sent off for violent conduct during the Old Firm derby following an incident with Celtic midfielder Morten Wieghorst.

In January 1998, Paul Gascoigne courted serious controversy when he mimed playing a flute while warming up as a substitute during an Old Firm match at Celtic Park.

Paul Gascoigne received a death threat from an IRA member.

Paul Gascoigne scored just 3 goals in 28 games and was sold on, while Rangers failed to win any trophies after he had departed, losing the league title to Celtic and the Scottish Cup final to Hearts.

Paul Gascoigne signed a two-year contract with Everton, managed by former Rangers boss Walter Smith, after joining on a free transfer in July 2000.

Paul Gascoigne then suffered a hernia injury, which kept him out of action for three months.

In October 2003, Paul Gascoigne was offered an opportunity to train with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In July 2004, Paul Gascoigne was signed as player-coach by League Two side Boston United, and upon signing spoke of his coaching aspirations, saying that "I can become a great coach and a great manager".

Paul Gascoigne left Boston after he made five appearances in a three-month spell, citing professional reasons including his coaching career.

Paul Gascoigne made his first start in the following game against Chile, and kept his first team place for most matches in the run in to the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Paul Gascoigne played four games for the England B team.

Paul Gascoigne went to the World Cup in Italy, having never started a competitive international.

Paul Gascoigne played in all three of the group games and England topped Group F, Gascoigne providing the assist for Mark Wright's winner against Egypt.

Paul Gascoigne was at the centre of the action again in the quarter-final clash with Cameroon when he gave away a penalty, which Cameroon converted.

Paul Gascoigne returned to the starting lineup for a friendly against Cameroon the following February, before an injury in the FA Cup final three months later caused him to miss the next twenty-one England fixtures, including all of UEFA Euro 1992, where England failed to progress beyond the group stages.

Paul Gascoigne's message was broadcast on Norwegian television and he was forced to apologise for the remark.

Paul Gascoigne scored in England's second game of the tournament, against Scotland.

The goal was followed by the "dentist's chair" celebration referring to the incident before the tournament, where Paul Gascoigne lay on the ground as if he were sitting in the dentist's chair, and teammates sprayed water from Lucozade bottles into his open mouth.

Under Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne was picked regularly and helped England win the Tournoi de France in 1997 ahead of Brazil, France and Italy.

Paul Gascoigne, who won 57 caps and scored ten goals, would never play for England again.

Paul Gascoigne was appointed manager of Conference North club Kettering Town on 27 October 2005, and planned to put in enough money to own one-third of the club to show his commitment.

Previous manager Kevin Wilson was appointed as director of football, and Paul Gascoigne Davis was appointed as the club's assistant manager.

Bookmakers put odds on Paul Gascoigne being dismissed before Christmas, though he insisted that he was at the club "for the long haul".

Paul Gascoigne later claimed that the owner had interfered incessantly and harboured ambitions of being a manager himself, despite knowing little about football.

Paul Gascoigne was never on a contract at the club, and was never paid for his six weeks work, nor was he given the chance to invest money in the club as he had first planned.

Paul Gascoigne came close to being appointed manager of Garforth Town in October 2010, and after weeks of talks between his agent and the club, he decided to turn down the offer, though reiterated his desire to return to football management.

Paul Gascoigne signed an exclusive deal with The Sun, which did not prevent the newspaper from joining its rivals in sensationalising the various scandals he became embroiled in.

Paul Gascoigne promoted two video games: Gazza's Superstar Soccer and Gazza II.

On 25 July 2009, Paul Gascoigne appeared on a Sporting Heroes edition of the BBC television quiz The Weakest Link, where he engaged in banter with host Anne Robinson.

Paul Gascoigne took part in the first edition of Soccer Aid in 2006, playing for an England team captained by Robbie Williams.

Paul Gascoigne had speed, physical strength, balance and excellent dribbling skills, which allowed him to protect the ball, beat opponents and withstand physical challenges.

Paul Gascoigne was an accurate free kick and penalty kick taker.

Paul Gascoigne married his long-time girlfriend Sheryl Failes in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in July 1996, after they had been together for around six years.

Paul Gascoigne later admitted to violence towards Sheryl during their marriage.

Paul Gascoigne had a son, Regan, with Sheryl and adopted Sheryl's two children from her first marriage, Mason and Bianca.

In October 2004, Paul Gascoigne announced that he wanted to be referred to as G8, a combination of the first letter of his surname and the number he wore on his football shirt, because it "stands for great".

Paul Gascoigne has three autobiographies: Gazza: My Story published in 2004, Being Gazza: Tackling My Demons, published in 2006, and Glorious: My World, Football and Me, published in 2011.

Paul Gascoigne first entered therapy sessions in October 1998 when he was admitted into Priory Hospital after a drinking session where he drank 32 shots of whisky which left him at "rock bottom"; then-manager Bryan Robson signed him into the clinic whilst Paul Gascoigne was unconscious.

Paul Gascoigne was released, at his own insistence, two weeks into the suggested minimum stay of 28 days.

Paul Gascoigne stayed at the clinic in 2003 after he suffered low points working in China, and again in 2004 after retiring from football.

Paul Gascoigne was taken into protective custody to prevent self-harm.

Paul Gascoigne was arrested for a disturbance outside a takeaway in February 2010.

On 9 July 2010 Paul Gascoigne appeared at the scene of the tense stand-off between the police and the fugitive Raoul Moat, claiming to be Moat's brother and stating that he had brought him "a can of lager, some chicken, a fishing rod, a Newcastle shirt and a dressing gown".

Paul Gascoigne subsequently admitted being more than four times over the limit at Newcastle upon Tyne Magistrates Court.

One day after being warned he could face a prison sentence for drink driving, Paul Gascoigne was arrested for possession of cocaine.

Paul Gascoigne's life is always in danger because he is an alcoholic.

Paul Gascoigne was placed in intensive care in a US hospital while being treated for alcoholism in Arizona in a rehabilitation programme thanks to financial support provided by ex-cricketer Ronnie Irani and broadcaster Chris Evans.

On 27 December 2016, Paul Gascoigne was hospitalised with head injuries including broken teeth after being kicked in the back and falling down stairs in a London hotel.

On 6 January 2017, a spokesman for Paul Gascoigne confirmed that he had entered a rehabilitation centre in a serious effort to stay "alcohol-free" in 2017.

At the time of the hacking Paul Gascoigne's therapist had attributed his belief in the hacking to paranoia.