Paul Gascoigne set for tell-all talk in Motherwell

Paul Gascoigne moved to Rangers from Lazio in July 1995. Picture: Getty

Former midfielder ‘Gazza’, 48, was deemed one of the best English players ever, but following his retirement from playing his life has been blighted by a lengthy battle with the bottle.

He has been rushed to hospital as a result of his alcoholism and has also suffered bouts of mental and emotional ill health.

But at the one-off ‘Paul Gascoigne - an Evening With The Legend’ event in Motherwell, Lanarkshire - Gazza will tell a packed audience his life story including all of his ups and downs.

He will then take questions from the 1000 strong crowd who will be eager to hear directly from one of the biggest names to have played in Scotland.

VIP tickets costing £125 for the show have already sold out and event promoter Frank Gilhooley said he is sure the event will be a huge success.

He said: “We have been working on this for several months and are delighted to have Gazza on board.

“He’ll be talking about the several ups and downs in his life and I would imagine that the tickets will sell out very quickly.

“It is an exclusive one-off gig and I know that Paul is very happy to be doing it.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of Paul starting out in Scottish football and his time playing north of the border represented some of the happiest times of his life.”

As well as Rangers, Gazza also played for his hometown club Newcastle and also starred for Tottenham, Lazio, Middlesbrough and Everton.

He also had spells at Chinese club Gansu Tianma and English sides Burnley and Boston United before hanging up his boots in 2004.

Gazza then entered the world of management with Conference side Kettering Town in 2005 but was sacked after just 39 days in charge and hasn’t managed since.

He recently revealed he received a death threat from the IRA following his infamous ‘flute playing’ gesture during a powder keg Old Firm game against bitter rivals Celtic at Parkhead in 1998, which saw the Hoops run out 2-0 winners on New Year’s Day.

Police even gave him a special mirrored device to look under his car for bombs in the aftermath of the game and the events left Gazza stunned at the scale of the religious rivalry in Scotland.

Limited tickets for the event in Motherwell Civic Centre on October 24 are available now priced £39.50.

As well as hearing from Gazza, the audience will be able to buy football memorabilia in an auction and win prizes in a raffle.