Paul Gascoigne cries as he reveals he had Christmas alcohol relapse

Paul Gascoigne has opened up about his ongoing battles with addiction after relapsing despite paying £20,000 to have anti-alcohol pellets put in his groin.

The former England star has blown his £20million fortune from his playing career and gone in and out of rehab because of alcohol-related problems since retiring. 

This weekend he revealed that he had travelled to Australia to undergo surgery in a bid to kick his habit once and for good.

Gascoigne said he was following in the footsteps of fellow footballer George Best, who had pellet implants to help him kick the booze in 2005. 

Speaking about his road to recovery on Good Morning Britain, a tearful ‘Gazza’ said he cheers himself up by buying sandwiches for tramps.

He told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: ‘I had a relapse at Christmas, which I was gutted [about], but I’ve just got back on the straight and narrow again.

I’m happy in life, I really am, especially after what I went through last year. When I feel down, I go out on the high street and people are great to me.

I’ve never turned down a selfie or autograph in my life. If I need to be picked up, I just walk down the high street.

‘If i need picking up I just walk down the high street and sit with a tramp and buy him a sandwich.’

Speaking about his pellet operation nine months ago, Gascoigne said the implant acted as a deterrent to drinking excessive alcohol by making him vomit.

He said: ‘There’s something with the endorphins in your brain, not that I’ve got a brain, I can socialise but if I touch spirits or drugs I’ll just automatically be sick.

The former England star has blown his £20million fortune from his playing career and gone in and out of rehab because of alcohol -related problems since retiring

‘So I have a couple of beers, couple of glasses of wine, but nothing more than that. It lasts for nine months and then they dissolve.’

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle player also spoke of being on the lookout for love after being cleared of sexual assault in October.

He said: ‘Last year was a bad year, it wasn’t good going through all that. And rightly so, I was found not guilty so I was pleased about that.’

When Piers Morgan asked him if he understood why Prince Harry has stepped down from being a senior royal, Gazza said: ‘It’s a great feeling becoming famous, but once you become famous, the standards are good and the only way is down, you know.  

‘When I played for England in London I was getting hounded. I thought I’d go to Italy and it was even worse.

‘You might be privileged but you can’t have everything your own way. When you’re famous like the person I am you’ve gotta take the good with the bad.’ 

Paul Gascoigne’s £20k anti-boozing operation 

The former England star spent £20,000 on an operation to install anti-booze pellets in a bid to curb his unhealthy relationship with drinking.

He was allegedly considering the procedure in 2013 but it could not be carried out as the ex-England player had reportedly drunk in the seven days leading up to it.

Paul Gascoigne looking frail and weak as he is escorted from his Bournemouth home by police to an ambulance in 2014. He was seen carrying a bottle of gin and cigarettes in Bournemouth’s town centre

Footballer George Best also had the pellets implanted into his stomach to help him kick the booze in 2005.

Best battled alcoholism since he left Manchester United in 1975. He was arrested for drink driving in 1985 and an interview with Terry Wogan in 1990 was cut short as he was drunk.

He previously visited Scandinavia where he was given the pellets but these wore out quickly, according to the former player.

Best allegedly got back on the booze and needed a liver transplant before he died at 59. 

Former footballer George Best is seen pouring champagne into glasses. He was given Antabuse pellets to help kick his drinking habit in 2005

The Antabuse implants, which could have been given to Gascoigne, release a chemical called disulfiram which interferes with the break down of alcohol in the body.

It blocks the reaction which sees alcohol oxidised and causes the build up of a poisonous chemical acetaldehyde – leading to head aches and vomiting with even small amounts of alcohol consumed. 

People will experience similar symptoms of a hangover with a drop in blood pressure, dizziness, severe sweating and shortness of breath upon drinking alcohol. 

In extreme cases, continuing to drink with the implant can lead to heart failure, coma and death.