Duncan Ferguson has revealed why he never socialised with Paul Gascoigne during their time at Everton.
Ferguson, 53, is often dubbed a Premier League hardman due to his antics on and off the field – even becoming the first British footballer to be jailed for an incident which happened during a Rangers match back in 1994, resulting in a three-month jail term.
However, these days the Scot has mellowed and has been doing the rounds promoting his book ‘Big Dunc: The Upfront Autobiography’ in recent months.
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The former Dundee United, Rangers, Everton, and Newcastle United striker shared the pitch with several mavericks such as Paolo Di Canio, Eric Cantona and David Ginola.
But very few Premier League players were more well-known than Gascoigne, 58, during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Strangely enough, the pair both represented Rangers and Newcastle but finally shared a dressing room at Everton when they both joined the Toffees in the summer of 2000.
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Ferguson was returning to his beloved Toffees after two seasons at Newcastle, while Gascoigne joined from Middlesbrough.
And the duo were both known for their eccentric personalities and love for a good time, whether that be in the city centre or the training ground.
But in his book, Ferguson opened up about why he would not socialise with Gascoigne outside of football.
“Paul Gascoigne was a genius but a lost soul by the time he came to Everton,” Ferguson said.
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“I liked Gazza, but I saw him as someone I didn’t want to be about. I was hearing that he was causing trouble in the city, and was lucky he never got hurt on a number of occasions, as some other players in Liverpool have done when mouthing off too much.
“Gazza at times wanted to socialise with me, but I could never be with him. It would cause me problems. I got on really well with Gazza, but he was going through a difficult time with his own demons.
“One day, Gazza tried to sell me a car from a boy in Middlesbrough. Gazza said it was a 55 AMG Mercedes - just what I wanted.
“Gazza’s mate brought this Mercedes down and I paid the boy £65,000…
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“He went back with the cheque and left the car. Richard Gough [who played for Everton] clocked it. ‘You know, Dunc, that’s not a 55 AMG. I’ve got one’.
“The reason I wanted the car was because I’d seen Richard with one. I knew next to nothing about cars.”
Gough then told Ferguson that it was a ‘430’ and not the car he'd expected.
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“I went off and I found Gazza [and said] ‘that’s not the car I wanted lad’,” Ferguson added.
“I phoned the boy up, ‘Look lad, this car is not a 55 AMG – I wanted my money’.
“'It is what it is', he said.”
Ferguson then revealed that Gascoigne was shaking and warned him that “these are heavy people” he was dealing with, but Ferguson told the ex-England international to make sure his mates returned or “there’ll be no car”.
The deal was eventually settled.
Topics: Paul Gascoigne, Everton, Football, Premier League, Newcastle United, England
Luke Davies