Paul Gascoigne makes an emotional plea to Marcus Rashford advising him to get help after getting in trouble over his antics.
He sent a message of support to the 26 year old Man Utd player after he went on a bender in Belfast late in January 2024, which landed him a fine believed to be £650,000, or two weeks’ wages.
Paul Gascoigne reflected on his own struggles, and has now warned Rashford not to go down the same road as he did after seeing his “12-hour tequila-fuelled” session in Northern Ireland capital last week.
Rashford ended up missing training on Friday, having phoned in sick, before making his return and scored within the first few minutes of Man Utd’s away game at Wolves on Thursday.
Gazza said to the Mirror: “I really like Marcus Rashford. He is my favourite England player. But you can tell things are just not right for him right now.”
“I would say to him, ‘Don’t make the same mistakes as me.’ He may need the help of the players around him, the staff to bring him around. Sometimes there are problems outside the game. He is a great player, at a great club, playing for his country, and yet he doesn’t seem happy. Obviously there is an issue with the manager and he doesn’t even celebrate his goals in the same way. He is down, he is getting fined, like I was at Lazio, it is not easy being in the limelight.
“When I was at Spurs, I found it so hard that I went to see a counsellor once a week, to talk my problems through. As a man, it is sometimes hard to ask for help. Even footballers need it sometimes. Marcus is earning a fortune, at one of the biggest clubs in the world, everyone thinks you do not have a care in the world. But the pressure is not always easy.”
Gazza picked up a fine worth around £40,000 at Italian club Lazio after taking his family to Eurodisney when he was meant to be training.
He said: “I bounced back, and that is what Marcus has to do. What I have learned is, always think about the repercussions of your actions. If you are going to do something, like clubbing, I would say to Marcus, ‘Stop and think, ‘What if this comes out?’”
“Because in the morning, everyone will know where you were. It happens when you are that famous. When I saw where Marcus was, in Belfast, I thought, ‘Last time I was out drinking like that, I ended up in rehab.’”
“They are really great people over there. But there is no hiding place.”
Rashford had a meeting with manager Erik Ten Hag at the training ground on Monday regaridng his bender.
The club said: “Marcus has taken responsibility for his actions. This has been dealt with as an internal disciplinary matter, which is now closed.”
Ten Hag said playing at a top club such as Manchester United demanded “a certain way of life”.
He went on: “The player has to know what is good and not good. I don’t have to educate them anymore. When you are playing for Manchester United, they should know.”
Gazza said of Rashford’s problems: “I don’t think it would have happened under Sir Alex Ferguson. It is impossible following in his footsteps. But sometimes you need an arm around the shoulder. You play for managers you love because you want to do well for them. I loved Terry Venables and Sir Bobby Robson.”
“I was very emotional when I heard Terry had died, he was such a great manager, so good to me when I was young. He would encourage me when I was down, say I was brilliant when I had not played well. Sometimes you need that.”
Paul Gascoigne talks about having counselling: “It gets things off your chest.
“It is completely confidential. I struggled at Spurs, I cost £2.2million which was big money then. I would get an electricity bill and wonder what to do with it. I got the neighbour in all the time to sort out things in the house. But counselling helped me cope with some of my issues when I was around Marcus’ age.
“The houses, jewellery, fast cars, they are all thanks to supporters. They pay so much money to go to games. When you are playing, especially for England, always make sure you remember the fans. They are the most important part of the game, you have to entertain them, win them over, never forget them.
“He can do that. And that was the one thing that I always wanted to do. I hope Marcus can enjoy himself again and get back to the top of his game. He has so much to look forward to at the Euros this summer. He is still a great player, he can bounce back.”
Friday’s front page: Don’t make same mistakes as me, Marcus https://t.co/r4vLBhP3pN#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/0OBG4SDedd
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) February 1, 2024
Twitter users gave their reaction as Paul Gascoigne makes an emotional plea to Marcus Rashford advising him to get help…
@JoeBren23341207: 30 years or so ago, I saw a very similar headline. It was George Best pleading with Gazza not to make the sane mistakes he made… poignant and sad
@anna_bobs: Gazza’s turned up at Rashford’s with a fishing rod and a chicken
@stuartderry1: Can’t make this shit up 😆 one night on the piss and Rashford’s the same as Gazza 😆😆😆 #MUFC #Rashford
@PeteBurrell: What did the message say…. I’ll bring you a four cans of lager and some sandwiches!
@weestu75: “No matter how far down the scale we have gone we will see how our experience can benefit others”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login