GAZZA STRUGGLE
I’m homeless and back at Alcoholics Anonymous after crying my eyes out to my agent, reveals Rangers hero Paul Gascoigne
The Rangers legend told how an addiction to Calpol also saw him barred from going to several chemists
PAUL GASCOIGNE is back at Alcoholics Anonymous after his battle with drink has rendered him effectively homeless, the footie legend has revealed.
A mercurial midfielder in his heyday, Gazza became a hero at Rangers during a trophy-laden spell from 1995 to 1998.
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Now aged 56, he has opened up on his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction in a tell-all interview.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, the Geordie icon said he's changed from a "happy" drunk to a "sad" drunk and regularly confines himself to only drinking indoors.
He revealed: "I used to be a happy drunk. I ain't anymore. I'm a sad drunk.
"I don't go out and drink, I drink indoors.
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"If I have a bad day, I go to the pub."
The 1990 World Cup star admitted he is now back attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings too in order to help with his afflictions.
He said: "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."
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The 57-times capped England legend has battled mental illness since his playing days and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001.
He has also been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
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Gascoigne said: "People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows. Even me sometimes.
"When I'm really down, that's when I pick up a drink to cheer myself up.
"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
"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.
"The drinking side of it was more when I finished playing. 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."
Gazza's battle with alcohol has seen him jailed or sectioned on several occasions over the years.
The dad-of-three, who has previously admitted he was violent towards first wife Sheryl, now lives with his agent Katie Davies at her home in Dorset.
He explained: "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."
Gazza, who also played for Newcastle, Tottenham and Lazio in his career, further revealed he had a bizarre addiction to Calpol that saw barred from every pharmacy in his hometown.
He said: "I've never been to rehab for drugs ever, and probably for drink I've probably been two or three times, the others, I've been for Calpol. I went to rehab because I couldn't get off Calpol.
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"Calpol has 0.0001 percent of alcohol, so I thought if I have 20 bottles of it, that's the equivalent of a pint."
And when he was told not to come back, Gazza said: "I'd say 'Listen, 'I've got three wives and nine kids, I need Calpol'. It was mad."
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