Paul Gascoigne has been urged by his celebrity friends to give up alcohol for good after returning to Britain following a £100,000 rehab stint in the United States. The former England footballer, 45, spent five weeks at the Cottonwood clinic in Arizona, where he suffered a severe seizure during detox. Doctors reportedly told him they did not think he would survive.
Cricketer Ronnie Irani, one of the first to help Gascoigne, said: 'He is getting his life on track, but it really is down to him now. The treatment has given him a second chance – he has to take it.' Gary Lineker, who also contributed to the cost, added that Gascoigne needs to find a new purpose after football.
Gascoigne was seen in Bournemouth looking healthier, admitting he was 'dead' and that his detox was the worst medics had ever seen. He pledged his latest descent into addiction must inspire him 'never to let this happen again'. The star thanked those who paid for his treatment, saying he would not be alive without them.
Support has come from the FA charity (£40,000) and players including Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, and Jack Wilshere, as well as Lord Sugar and Piers Morgan. Gascoigne is expected to return to Tyneside to be with his father John.
