Gary Lineker has recalled receiving a hilarious text from old England team-mate Paul Gascoigne – who told him he’d just fallen down the stairs.
Lineker spent four years playing alongside Gascoigne for the Three Lions, famously urging a member of the coaching staff to “have a word” with his good friend when he received a booking that ruled him out of a potential 1990 World Cup final.
The pair also enjoyed a brief two-year stint together at Tottenham and were part of the side that won the FA Cup in 1991.
Since calling time on his career in 2004, ‘Gazza’ has struggled with life outside of the sport, suffering from alcoholism and drug abuse amid mental health issues.
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In an interview with the Daily Mail, though, Lineker has revealed he still keeps in touch with the 52-year-old.
And Gascoigne even texts the Match of the Day host to make him aware of unfortunate incidents such as falling down the stairs.
“I still speak to Gazza. He'll suddenly text or call me out of the blue,” he said.
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“The last one was two weeks ago. ‘What ya doowen? Ah jus' fell doon the stairs’.
“You get a text and it's always from a different number because he's lost the last phone. And you don't know who it is, but then you'll get, ‘It's Gazza’.
“I had to clear his numbers out a little while ago because there were too many. Gazza, Paul Gascoigne, Gazza 2, Gazza 4, I had about 15.
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“Then two weeks after he's been in touch I'll text him and get nothing back because he's lost the phone again.
“Everyone says it: a million stories about him, and they're all true.”
Lineker also waxed lyrical about Gascoigne’s footballing ability, insisting he was an intelligent player on the pitch.
“People would say to me about Gazza, ‘Oh, he's thick’,” he said.
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“I’d say, ‘No, no…’ He was sharp and he was witty before he lost his way, and he was so intelligent as a footballer the only pass he'd give you is one he knew you'd have to give him straight back; unless he was knackered.
“Late on in Naples, 1990 [against Cameroon], he suddenly put me straight through.
“I said, ‘We've played together for two years, Gazza — you could do that all the time’. He's grinning, 'I know, I know’.”
- Gary Lineker
- Paul Gascoigne
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