Gascoigne was born in Dunston, Tyne and Wear on 27 May 1967. His father, John (1946-2018), was a hod carrier, and his mother, Carol, worked in a factory. He was named Paul John Gascoigne in tribute to Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the Beatles. He attended Breckenbeds Junior High School, then the Heathfield Senior High School, both in the Low Fell area of Gateshead.

Gascoigne captained Newcastle United's youth team to the FA Youth Cup in the 1984-85 season, and scored twice in the 4-1 victory over Watford in the final at Vicarage Road. Manager Jack Charlton handed Gascoigne his first team debut as a substitute for George Reilly in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 13 April 1985 at St James' Park. At the age of 18 Gascoigne signed a two-year PS120 a week contract at Newcastle, with the club also having a further two-year option clause.  Willie McFaul took over as manager for the 1985-86 season, and named Gascoigne in his first eleven from the opening game of the campaign; he took the place of Chris Waddle, who had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. He scored his first goal at home to Oxford United in a 3-0 victory on 21 September 1985, and claimed a further eight goals in the 1985-86 campaign. Newcastle finished 11th in the First Division that season and, at the end of it, Gascoigne was featured on the front cover of the Rothmans Football Yearbook.  He scored five goals in 24 league games in the 1986-87 season, as the "Magpies" slipped to 17th place, just three points above the relegation play-offs.  In a 0-0 draw with Wimbledon at Plough Lane hard-man Vinnie Jones singled him out for attention, and in an incident that would become a much-publicised photograph, Jones grabbed him by the genitals as Gascoigne screamed in agony. Gascoigne subsequently sent Jones a red rose, and the two became good friends. He was named as the PFA Young Player of the Year and listed on the PFA Team of the Year in the 1987-88 season, and was the subject of offers from both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. His first choice was Liverpool but with no offer forthcoming, Gascoigne promised Alex Ferguson that he would sign for Manchester United. Ferguson duly went on holiday to Malta, where he received the news that Gascoigne had signed for Spurs, for a record British fee of PS2.2 million. In his 1999 autobiography, Ferguson claimed that Gascoigne was wooed into signing for Tottenham after they bought a house for his impoverished family.  In his first season at White Hart Lane Gascoigne helped Terry Venables's Spurs to sixth in the First Division, scoring seven goals in 37 appearances. They rose to third place in 1989-90, but were still 16 points behind champions Liverpool. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1990, and on accepting the award said that "I haven't won anything in the game as yet. But the World Cup did help to put England on the map". He was also named as Tottenham Hotspur's Player of the Year.  Gascoigne was named on the PFA Team of the Year in the 1990-91 season as Tottenham reached the FA Cup Final, with victories over Blackpool, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Notts County and North London derby rivals Arsenal. He scored the opening goal of the 3-1 victory over Arsenal at Wembley with a free-kick, one of six goals he scored in the competition. Going into the final against Nottingham Forest he had already agreed terms to join Italian club Lazio in an PS8.5 million deal. However just 15 minutes into the game he committed a dangerous knee-high foul on Gary Charles and ruptured his own cruciate ligaments in his right knee. England teammate Stuart Pearce scored from the resultant free kick, and Gascoigne subsequently collapsed after the kick-off, forcing him to leave the match on a stretcher. Tottenham went on to win the Cup in extra-time.  He missed the entire 1991-92 season while he recovered, suffering a further knee injury in late 1991, when an incident at a nightclub on Tyneside kept him out for even longer. The saga over Gascoigne's proposed transfer to Lazio dominated the tabloid press throughout 1991, often overshadowing the key national news of that time - namely the recession and rise in unemployment that it sparked - although the broadsheet newspapers generally kept stories about Gascoigne confined to their back pages.  "I'm very pleased for Paul but it's like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new car."  Gascoigne signed for Rangers in July 1995, for a club record fee of PS4.3 million, on wages of PS15,000 a week. He made an immediate impact; in the fifth league game of the season in the Old Firm match at Celtic Park he scored a goal after running almost the full length of the pitch. On 30 December, in a match against Hibernian, Gascoigne was booked by referee Dougie Smith after he picked Smith's yellow card up from the ground and jokingly 'booked' the referee. Rangers went on to win the league in the 1995-96 season, clinching the title in the penultimate game of the season against Aberdeen at Ibrox Stadium; Gascoigne scored a hat-trick during the game. Rangers won the double as they also won the Scottish Cup by knocking out Keith, Clyde, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic, before beating Heart of Midlothian 5-1 in the final at Hampden Park. He scored 19 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions, and was named as both PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year.  Rangers won the league title again in 1996-97, their ninth in succession. Gascoigne claimed hat-tricks against Kilmarnock and Motherwell, and ended the campaign with 17 goals in 34 games. However manager Walter Smith and assistant Archie Knox became increasingly concerned over Gascoigne's reliance on alcohol. The "Gers" won another double by winning the League Cup, knocking out Clydebank, Ayr United, Hibernian and Dunfermline Athletic en route to the final. Rangers beat Hearts 4-3 in the final at Celtic Park, with Gascoigne scoring two goals and Ally McCoist claiming the other two.  In November 1997, Gascoigne received a five-match ban after being sent off for violent conduct during the Old Firm derby following an incident with Celtic midfielder Morten Wieghorst. In January 1998, Gascoigne courted serious controversy after he played a mock flute (symbolic of the flute-playing of Orange Order marchers) during an Old Firm match at Celtic Park. The gesture infuriated Celtic fans who had been taunting him and Gascoigne was fined PS20,000 by Rangers after the incident. He also received a death threat from an Irish Republican Army (IRA) Member following the incident. The 1997-98 season was not a success, as Gascoigne scored just three goals in 28 games and Rangers failed to win any trophies, losing the league title to Celtic.

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