Why did Gazza snub Sir Alex? It was all down to a sunbed...
‘CAN I go on holiday, knowing that I’ve signed you Gazza?” Sir Alex Ferguson asked on the phone to Paul Gascoigne in the summer of 1988, desperate to sign the raw, exciting Geordie youngster.
The legendary former United boss was immediately given assurances by Gascoigne that he would sign for the Reds, but that sunny retreat didn’t go entirely as planned for Ferguson.
The Reds boss would soon read the news that Gascoigne had agreed on a move to Tottenham Hotspur for a record British fee of £2.2m, breaking the agreement the pair had verbally reached.
Gascoigne would go on to achieve a glittering career, and while his offthe-field antics have always dominated headlines, he’s undoubtedly one of England’s greatest-ever footballing products.
Technically immaculate, flair and vision in abundance and an incredible knack of being able to score breathtaking goals – Gascoigne was a trailblazer.
It’s hard to argue there’s ever been an English player in the mould of Gascoigne since and, quite simply, United missed out on a once in a generation talent when Spurs swooped for his signature.
The trophy cabinet at Old Trafford suggests United weren’t inconvenienced by Gazza’s decision, but it’s certainly interesting to ponder what could have been if that sunbed wasn’t offered.
Yes, really. Gascoigne’s move to Old Trafford fell through because of a sunbed.
Not long after arriving from Aberdeen, Ferguson was searching the transfer market for suitable additions that would help him rebuild United.
It was 1987 and Ferguson’s Reds were up against Newcastle in the top flight, when one youngster made a mockery of his side. It was Paul Gascoigne.
“When Newcastle were bobbing above the relegation zone, we played them and my three central midfielders that day were Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside and Remi Moses, all great footballers,” Ferguson recalled.
“He [Gascoigne] just tore them apart. When he nutmegged Moses and patted him on the head, I was out of the dugout shouting, ‘Get that f ****** so-and-so!’ Robbo and Whiteside were chasing him up and down the pitch, and they couldn’t get near him.”
Gascoigne’s brilliance on the pitch was hard to ignore, he was doing things with the ball that George Best and Diego Maradona had done before him. His style demanded attention.
Fuelled with a diet of Mars bars and brown ale, Gascoigne wasn’t exactly your conventional athlete, though, even in the years in which sports science hadn’t entered the professional game.
This didn’t prevent the young Geordie from swiftly building a large reputation on the pitch – after just a few seasons with Newcastle as one of England’s most exciting young talents.
“People in the game started talking about this young man that had something a little bit special,” Gary Lineker explained in 2015.
“He was a precocious young talent, a kid that would do things, that would take people on, that would beat people, and had an unbelievable natural talent.”
He won the PFA Young Player of the Year and was listed in the PFA Team of the Year in the 1987/88 season.
However, with his hometown club Newcastle enduring a turbulent campaign, Gascoigne would soon leave the North East for pastures new in the summer.
“I want to be successful and that means leaving,” Gascoigne told a local newspaper just before his
Newcastle exit. “I feel it would also do me a power of good to physically leave the area. The pressures have been getting to me.”
There was no lack of potential suitors for Gazza’s signature, and Ferguson was one of many admirers, knowing that it would be a coup to lure the star to United.
“First up, I spoke to Kenny Dalglish about going to Liverpool, but I could not understand a word he said, a Geordie speaking to a Scouser did not go down well,” Gascoigne explained years later.
The whole country was interested in signing the young lad from Dunston, although Ferguson’s call to Gascoigne to sell him the move to United was more persuasive than others, including Daglish’s.
“We spoke to him the night before I went on holiday,” explained Ferguson. “He said, ‘Go and enjoy yourself Mr Ferguson, I’ll be signing for Manchester United.’”
It seemed the Reds had beaten the competition for Gascoigne’s signature, with Ferguson offered assurances by the player that his decision to join was final. However, with Ferguson on the continent, Gascoigne would have a sudden change of heart when Spurs made a late attempt to bring him to White Hart Lane.
“He went on holiday and I was driving to Old Trafford. The phone went, and it was [former Tottenham chairman] Irving Scholar,” Gascoigne reflected.
“He asked what I wanted in my contract and I asked for a nice house for my family. I rang my dad up and said ‘Spurs have offered a house’ and he said ‘what are you waiting for?’
“I rang back and said my dad would like a car, a white BMW with a private reg on and they
said ‘consider it done.’” With Spurs making a late move to secure Gascoigne from under United’s nose, the youngster couldn’t help but think about the move he had already verbally agreed. “I was going off the motorway to Spurs and panicking about letting Sir Alex down.
“But the phone rang again and it was my sister. She said ‘If mam’s getting a house and dad’s getting a car, I want a sunbed.’ Irving said ‘consider it done... just get here.’
“It was my family’s fault, honestly,” Gascoigne has since insisted.
Tottenham signed Gascoigne for a record British fee of £2.2m with “the entire deal, done on a f ****** sunbed,” according to the man himself years later.
Ferguson was so aggrieved at Gascoigne’s snub that he sent him a letter calling him a ‘silly boy’ while also lamenting him for ‘turning down the biggest club in the world.’
Gazza would help Spurs to sixth in the first division in his first season at the club, scoring seven goals.
His star quality guaranteed him a place in England’s 1990 World Cup squad, although when Gascoigne returned from Italia ‘90, he was a household name.
Things just got better for the player after that tournament, and his goals in the 1990/91 FA Cup campaign single-handedly dragged Spurs to the final.
It was Gascoigne’s first final, an occasion to be remembered, but the day would end in heartbreak when Gascoigne tore the ligaments in his right knee, recklessly attempting to tackle an opponent.
He was ruled out of football for more than a year and that would undoubtedly play a part towards Gascoigne’s downward spiral, as his off-field issues surfaced.
Regardless of his demons, Gascoigne enjoyed a sensational career, winning the FA Cup with Spurs, the Treble with Rangers, and playing 57 times for England.
That’s without mentioning Gascoigne became a cult hero at Lazio, and can also lay claim to arguably scoring one of the greatest goals - against Scotland Wembley has ever seen.
His struggles with alcohol, drugs and gambling were never secrets. The Italia ‘90 hero was a troubled star, which begs the question would Gascoigne have taken a different path in life if he joined United?
“Losing out on him was the biggest disappointment of all, and he admits it was a mistake. Moving down to London can’t be easy for any 19-year-old lad,” Ferguson explained in 2008. “We could have taken London out the road of him. We had Bobby Charlton, a Geordie. We had Bryan Robson, a Geordie. We had a structure of players who could have helped him – given him some discipline.” Ferguson has always suggested Gascoigne may have resisted certain temptations if he had signed for United, but what does the man himself think? His answer has changed over time.
“It was a massive missed opportunity,” Gascoigne admitted, speaking in 2013. “Obviously I worked with a great manager in Terry Venables, don’t get me wrong. “I just think about the players around my age when I had the chance to sign for [United] and what they’ve achieved.
“It’s not just on the field, but off the field as well. [Fergie] doesn’t just work with them at the club, he works with them when they’re not at the club.”
While Gascoigne clearly felt the same way as Ferguson eight years
ago, it’s interesting his view on the subject has now changed.
“Alex Ferguson says it would have been different if I had signed for Man United,” Gascoigne said, speaking last year in Altrincham.
“Well, Rio Ferdinand did a runner from a drugs test and Eric Cantona two-footed someone in the neck in the stand. ****** hell, man.”
The colourful language used was typical of Gascoigne, although it was surprising to see him contradict his original stance on the matter and therefore It’s hard to know which version he truly believes.
It is worth noting, Gascoigne’s former Spurs and England team-mate Chris Waddle admitted he doesn’t think a move to Old Trafford would have worked, either.
“I think maybe Sir Alex with his iron fist, I don’t think Gazza would have enjoyed that. Gazza wouldn’t have enjoyed being bullied and intimidated at times,” Waddle said, speaking on a podcast in 2019.
“Alex Ferguson could have been the manager that Gazza needed. But with Gazza, he got on better with managers who were a little bit more laid back.”
We’ll never know what would have become of Gascoigne if that sunbed wasn’t offered.
Not many players turn down United, but Gascoigne certainly wasn’t an ordinary player.
We had a structure of players who could have helped him – given him some structure
Sir Alex Ferguson on Paul Gascoigne