Paul Gascoigne reveals Raoul Moat saga was the 'biggest regret of his life' – as England legend opens up about Euro '96 heartbreak
“I went psychotic. It was quite scary to be fair," Gazza told LBC
Paul Gascoigne has revealed that his drug-fuelled attempt to find serial killer Raoul Moat remains the “biggest” regret of his life.
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The Spurs and England legend, affectionately known as 'Gazza', is remembered as one of the greatest footballers of his generation.
But despite shining on the pitch, Gazza battled with alcohol addiction and substance abuse – issues that led Gazza down a “scary” and unpredictable path.
In an exclusive interview on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the 58-year-old shared perhaps his wildest anecdote of all – an attempt to track down killer-at-large Raoul Moat while on a brandy and cocaine binge.
Moat killed one person and injured two others, including policeman David Rathband, before taking his own life during a stand-off with police following 7 days on the run in July 2010.
Gazza told Nick the incident remains his “biggest regret”, adding that he hasn't touched cocaine since heading to the village where the killer was said to be hiding out following a shooting spree.
“I went psychotic. It was quite scary to be fair," Gazza explained.
Read more: England football legend's son, 21, dies in tractor crash
“Luckily enough, my dad sectioned me for 11 days. I went cold turkey and thought ‘oof, never again’.”
Moat's shooting spree began after discovering his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Samantha Stobbart, had a new partner, karate instructor beau, Christopher Brown, 29.
To protect him, Ms Stobbart told her ex that Mr Brown was a policeman, ultimately leading Moat to kill him before indiscriminately targeting police officers in a vengeful shooting spree.
He also went on to shoot policeman David Rathband in the face with a shotgun as cops tried to track him down.
High on drugs and booze, Gazza saw coverage on the news and somehow convinced himself that the killer was his brother – when it emerged he was hiding out in nearby Rothbury, a remote village in Northumberland.
“I didn't know a couple of days beforehand he had shot a cop in the face," Gazza explained.
“Eventually, after a couple more lines, I was like, ‘oh yeah, he’s, my half-brother. I think he needs help," he said.
He arrived in Rothbury with a collection of bizarre items, including fishing rods, cans of lager, a Barbour jacket and a roast chicken.
“Because I'd been to rehab a few times, I thought I was a good therapist. Obviously backfired a little bit. It wasn't until the next morning I thought 'what did I do yesterday?' I couldn't remember nothing,” Gazza said.
It was only when the former footballer switched on the TV the following day that he realised his actions.
"'Oh f**k,' Gazza said, before revealing that he had around "three hundred missed calls."
One of those was from his father, who called police to pick him up and take him “straight to the nuthouse”, which he said did him a “favour”.
Gascoigne also shared a more recent memory with Nick, involving former England manager Gareth Southgate.
Gazza said the pair bumped into one another a couple of years ago at Wembley, teasing Southgate about his traumatic miss for England in 1996, which saw the Three Lions go out in the Euro semi-finals.
He jokingly said to him: “Gareth, I can’t understand it.
"I scored my penalty, and I end up in rehab for five weeks.
"You missed your penalty, you get a 30 grand pizza advert in England manager’s job. What the hell did I do wrong?”
But Gascoigne later added that Southgate “did so well for England as well", saying: "I’m so proud of him.”
Gascoigne appeared in good spirits and well about his wits during his conversation with Nick, which comes after his new book - Eight- hit the shelves last week.