Paul Gascoigne had more natural talent than perhaps any other footballer England has ever produced.
He also has a larger-than-life personality that few can match up to, meaning that wherever he went, there would usually be equal measures of chaos, laughter and mischief to follow.
From his days coming up through the youth system at Newcastle United to his time at major tournaments with England, Gazzas reputation as a prankster always preceded him.
FourFourTwo even went as far as producing the top 50 Gazza stories back in 2021 and its therefore inevitable that not every prank that the 58-year-old pulled off during his career landed as he intended.
Gascoigne spent three seasons with Rangers between 1995 and 1998 and it was during this period that one of his practical jokes ended up costing him dearly.
I had to buy a new car for Gordon Durie, he tells FourFourTwo, wincing at how much it set him back. Id put two trout in his car after training, and the smell was so bad that the chairman made me buy him a new car.
And how much did that set him back?
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Seventeen grand that cost me!, Gazza recoils, before adding in another piece of trademark dark humour. It was still cheaper than the other f**king trout I f**king divorced
That is one of countless stories from Gazzas storied 20-year career that saw him turn out for nine clubs across four countries, while winning 57 England caps.
Paul Gascoigne: Eight (published by Reach Sport) is on sale now in print, ebook and audiobook
For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.
