England football great Paul Gascoigne has suggested that the moment an 8-year-old boy died in his arms may be linked to his alcoholism and poor mental health.
Gascoigne, who is regarded as one of England’s greatest playmakers after representing his country between 1988 and 1998, has written a new book,Eight, in which he reflects on his chaotic life.
One of the passages in the autobiography details the moment when Steven Spraggon, a friend’s younger brother who Gascoigne was looking after, was struck by an ice-cream van in Gateshead.
“His younger brother wouldn’t go to the boys’ club, and I said I’d look after him. He was only 8 and I was 10,” an emotional Gascoigne recounted, while speaking on the ITV breakfast show.
“We left the shop and I said ‘quick, let’s go’. He ran one yard in front of me and a car just hit him. I ran down and he died in my lap. I thought he was still alive because his lips moved a bit. I went, ‘He’s okay, he’s breathing’, but he wasn’t. That was his last movement.”
Although Gascoigne has spoken about the event before, he was asked by Richard Madeley, the Good Morning Britain presenter, about whether his problems stem from that incident. Gascoigne appeared to agree, saying that initially football was how he took his mind off his childhood trauma.
In a BBC documentary released three years ago, Gascoigne said he blamed himself for Spraggon’s death.
He said: “I was on my own with him for what seemed like ages. It was the first dead body I’d ever seen and I felt Steven’s death was my fault. I still go over the accident in my mind. Just speaking of it can make me cry.”
Gascoigne become a household name after his breakout performances – and tears – playing for England at the 1990 World Cup in Italy and cemented his place in the public consciousness with his stunning goal against Scotland at Wembley in the 1996 European Championship.
He played for Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton between 1985 and 2002.
Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, pictured in an interview with ITV. Photo / ITV
In the rest of his interview on Good Morning Britain, the 58-year-old appeared to be in good spirits and said he had rejoined Alcoholics Anonymous in a bid to stay sober. He also admitted that he gets “miserable” after a binge-drinking session.
When asked by Madeley’s co-host Susanna Reid how he is doing at the moment, he replied: “Yeah, I’m good. Life’s good at the moment.”
Madeley then asked Gascoigne what he is like when he gets drunk and replied: “Nightmare. I used to be all right, I used to be a happy drunk, but now I’m quite a sad drunk, really, to be fair.
“Drink doesn’t go with me any more. But I can go months and months without, and then I’ll have a two-day blip and then the consequences ... I don’t like myself for a few days. I just get miserable.
“And then all of a sudden I got to an AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] meeting and just listen. You wonder what it is you, know? It wasn’t until I first went to the AA meetings that I realised I am an alcoholic, unfortunately.”
Gascoigne’s TV appearance comes nearly three months after he received hospital treatment for a throat condition.
His management company said he voluntarily went into A&E over the issue, which he had been coping with for some time, before returning home two days later.
