Four-day booze benders and struggles when Man United fans in town bought him drinks: Paul Gascoigne opens up on his new life in Bournemouth, where he stays in spare room of his agent's alcohol-free house

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England legend Paul Gascoigne has opened up on his new life living on the south coast of England, where he stays in the spare room of his agent's alcohol-free home. 

Gascoigne, 56, has publicly battled mental health problems and alcohol addiction since his legendary football career came to an end back in 2004. 

He made 57 appearances for his country and played for a host of top sides including Tottenham, Newcastle, Lazio and Rangers.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that he now lives with his agent Katie Davies on a residential street in Poole - seven miles outside of Bournemouth.

During the interview with High Performance, 'Gazza' also revealed that when he arrived on the south coast he would get stopped by football fans for a drink and how he went on 'three or four-day booze benders'.

Paul Gascoigne opened up on his never-ending battle to stay sober and on his new life living on the south coast in the spare room of his agent's alcohol-free house

Gascoigne said it was a 'nightmare' when he first moved, bringing up a story of how Manchester United fans bought him drinks when they travelled to Bournemouth for a game

'Gazza' is regarded as one of the best English players of all time with 57 caps for his country

The former England international pictured with his manager Katie Davies in October 2019

He said: 'Bournemouth's not such a football town. When I first arrived I was getting stopped at weekends, it was a nightmare. 

'If Bournemouth was playing at home, playing like Manchester United, the town would be full of Man United fans.'

When asked by Jake Humphrey whether it was 'hard' to deal with everybody wanting to buy him a drink, Gascoigne joked: 'Oh yeah, that's a good thing - saves me money.

'But no, I've had that all my life. It's not the drink so much it's the consequences.

'I know I'm in trouble if I look at my mobile and I've got like 30 messages and 30 missed calls - I think "oh s***".

'I've been alright, last year wasn't brilliant, I was off and on - a couple of months and then a three-four day bender.'

Gascoigne, who was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 before calling time on his career in 2004, has struggled with his battle for sobriety since retirement.

He went to rehab for a seventh time for alcohol addiction in 2014, attending a £6,000-a-month clinic in Southampton, and has even paid £20,000 to have anti-boozing pellets put into his stomach in a bid to stop drinking. He admitted during a 2021 interview that he will 'always be an alcoholic'.

Gascoigne said he would get stopped for drinks by fans in Bournemouth and would go on 'three or four day benders' after months of being away from alcohol

Gazza has struggled for sobriety since his retirement from football two decades ago

Pictured during a television interview with ITV last year, Gascoigne's battle with alcohol has led to a series of arrests for drunk and disorderly behaviour and drink-driving offences

Gascoigne's battle with alcohol has also led to a series of arrests for drunk and disorderly and drink-driving offences. The former superstar admits he barely watches football anymore because of how much he misses it.

The former midfielder, who used to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings 'all the time' but now goes far less frequently, admitted that he is trying to pay visits more often.

'I went to a meeting the other night so that was alright. Just an AA meeting. I went with a friend and that was okay. They're alright, harmless,' he said.

During the interview Gascoigne said that he 'used to be a happy drunk' but is now a 'sad drunk' as he likes to drink indoors rather than going out. 

He also said that if he 'wants to make it a bad day' he will go to the pub, while on good days he will go fishing.  

He added: '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 (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.'

Now, rather than binging on booze, Gascoigne drinks coffee in plentiful supply. The former footballer admitted during the interview that he'll often drink six coffees by 10am and total approximately 15 packets of Mocha a day.

'It's easy really, I just try to keep away from places,' he continued. 'If I have a drink, I have one because I want one, it's not for any reason in particular. I don't blame anyone, I used to blame a lot of people when I was drinking. "It's f***ing because he did that". "Because such and such did this".

'After going to the first couple of meetings, I did the 12 steps and one of the steps was to meet the person you blamed and apologise to them.'

The England legend opened up on how he once apologised to a shop owner after stealing a chocolate bar. The vendor told Gascoigne that the shop's CCTV cameras had caught him, but he chose to do nothing about it because it was 'him'.

Some members of the public, however, are less kind and forgiving of Gascoigne. Katie, who keeps no alcohol in the house, revealed that some people will occasionally leave bottles of gin on the doorstep, waiting for Gascoigne to unknowingly pick the bottle up and opportunistically take a photograph.

Opening up on his life after football and how he deals with his past, Gascoigne continued: 'I called Katie up in November a few years ago crying my eyes out.

Gascoigne cries after England's World Cup semi-final defeat by West Germany in July, 1990

Gascoigne (pictured with Gary Lineker) played for clubs including Tottenham, Newcastle, Lazio and Rangers

'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.

'When I do these venues, 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. You miss it on a Saturday, you know, entertaining people. I got such a f***ing buzz from it and you miss that.

'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?

'I'm proud of what I've given people. I gave nearly a million quid to 10 different charities and called them to keep it quiet.

'I've never (given up). I think the time I'll give in is when I'm in a wooden box. Apart from that, I'll keep on fighting on.'