Paul Gascoigne's sudden downward turn after looking 'better than ever' just weeks ago
Football legend Paul Gascoigne was looking like a man at the top of his game just weeks before he was admitted to intensive care after being found collapsed at home.
Gazza, 58, said he felt the best he has for years as he sat down with the Mirror ahead of his new book Eight being released in the autumn. He took part in an exclusive photoshoot and looked dapper as he spoke about having a better grasp of what was happening to him during his rollercoaster life.
Fans were left fearing the worst last night as news broke of the former England and Spurs midfield being rushed to hospital. He is now stable and recovering in an acute medical unit after being found semi-conscious by a friend in his bedroom at home in Poole, Dorset.
The health set-back came after Gazza told us: 'I feel better now than I have in years.' He went on to detail why he has put some much energy into his new book, saying: 'I hope I am at a point that I can really look back over everything I've gone through in my life with a different - and more positive - perspective. After so many years in the spotlight, I feel like it's time people got to know the real me.'
Mirror snapper Rowan Griffiths photographed his footballing hero Gazza for the first time in May and said: 'He looks fantastic.' Meeting at a hotel in Didcot, Oxfordshire, Rowan says: 'Gazza knows how to hold the room. He was very genuine, asking how we all were. He was doing a speaking tour and seemed very well. I was so relieved to see him looking so good, as I was a fan from way back in the day myself. He was one of the heroes of my youth.'
Today, Paul's friend Steve Foster, who found the star, said: "He would like to thank everyone for the support he's received so far from so many old friends who wish him well and want to see him back to his best." Foster drove Paul to hospital after finding him, adding: "Paul is in hospital, which is the best possible place for him to be right now.' He is expected to remain there for several days.
Earlier this year he showed his character as he confessed to a gaffe - almost letting a phone call from The Pope pass him by, before greeting him with a remarkable opening line. Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Gascoigne recalled: "It wasn't just [fans and journalists], it was from famous people as well.
"I was getting calls from George Clooney, Dustin Hoffman, Oprah Winfrey. "I was getting calls from everywhere. The best one was I got told there was a phone call and I said 'tell them to f*** off, I'm training'. They said 'you better take the phone call'. I said, 'no I'm training, tell them I'll call them after my training'. They said it was important so I said, 'who the f*** is it?'
"They said it was The Pope, John Paul II." In hilarious fashion, Gascoigne let his thick Geordie accent loose when answering the phone to His Holiness, adding: "I picked up the phone and went, 'Hi Pope, you alreet?' I said, 'hiya Pope, what do you want?' He said, 'come to the Vatican, I want to meet you'.
"My Dad's a Catholic. We went over and saw The Pope, it was unbelievable." He added: "When you're getting calls like that and then I'm getting Mike Tyson coming to Dunston, where I live, wanting to come to my 40th birthday party. It was just crazy."
Gazza is one of England's best-loved sports stars having shot to fame during the 1980s and 1990s. After coming through the youth ranks at local club Newcastle United, he made his debut for the Magpies in April 1985. He scored 25 times in 104 games for the Toon before moving to Spurs.
In north London, he helped Tottenham to the FA Cup in 1991 and spent four years with the club before moving to Lazio. He later represented Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Burnley.
But it was with England that Gazza captured the nation's heart. He made his debut in September 1988 under Bobby Robson and would go on to be a key part of the Three Lions' run to the semi-finals at Italia 90.
After picking up a booking against West Germany which would have kept him out of the final, Gary Lineker alerted the dugout to the fact Gascoigne was becoming upset in one of football's most enduring images. Ultimately England were beaten on penalties and did not make the final, leading to Gazza crying on the pitch as he kissed the badge on his shirt and took the acclaim of the travelling supporters.
He was also part of the England side that reached the semi-finals of Euro 96 on home soil, again losing to Germany on penalties. His goal against Scotland in the group stage is one of the most famous in Three Lions history. But he was controversially overlooked for the 1998 World Cup in France by Glenn Hoddle, ending his international career with 10 goals in 57 appearances.
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