Prime Paul Gascoigne was Unplayable! 

For 2 or 3 seasons in his career when fit and happy he was the best player in the world bar none.

I'm 62 and he's the most gifted England player in my lifetime.

When you contrast England’s current (side to side to back) passing and (lack of) attacking drive in everything they have done in Germany 24’ with Gazza’s style of play, his genius, creativity and constant ambition to attack from the instant he receives the ball its shocking. There is nothing like him in an England shirt nor has there been since he wore that strip.

Que genial y potente era Gascoigne..... mi preferido junto a Michael Laudrup. Gascoigne era una mezcla de potencia física de rugbista con talento sudamericano para el fútbol...... Inigualable!!!!....el Gran Gascoigne!!!!

He was the rarest kind of football player that ever existed a centre midfielder that could run and take players on like a winger. He also had a football brain all to rare nowadays with its tikactaka possession obsession. His ability would have been coached out of him nowadays.

He made us cheer and grin. A sublime player. If only we had him now. Clone him!

Best England player in my lifetime and i'm 55.

I ‘grew up’ with Gazza, I forgot how brilliant he was, special talent…

Best English player in my life time and I’m 56. People under 40 saying Bellingham are taking out of their arses. Jude is brilliant but seriously is way behind, talent wise.

he was so good even the jocks liked him

Deceptively quick,strong as a bull,great feet,class finisher,great passer with vision to match,two footed and could tackle and control the tempo of a game. What a player he was. He also did it on a dodgy diet 😳

Not old enough to remember GAZZA - born in 93, but always heard rave reviews about him and after seeing this he truly was GOAT level potential, and defo one of the greatest/natural talented footballers Britain ever produced.

If only Sir Alex had got hold of Paul Gascoigne. That ability to dribble was incredible and something that has disappeared from the modern game. I knew someone who was a Tottenham apprentice and they talked about the huge drinking and partying culture that was prevalent at that time. Gascoigne was a party animal, and once the drink got hold of him he was doomed. These clips give the merest glimpse of the immense talent that was Paul Gascoigne; I believe it was Sir Bobby Robson (RIP) who said Gascoigne could be the best player in the world - and with the right manager and team around him he would have been. Even with all his problems, Paul Gascoigne was still better than 99.99 of all players past and present. Oh, what could have been....

I remember seeing him right at the end of his career at Everton and he came on for a ten minute cameo because he had no fitness then. And every time he got the ball for that ten minutes, he was pure class and absolutely terrifying for our defenders.

By a country mile the best English footballer I’ve seen in my life Time and I’m 42

His game is beautiful to watch. Touches of genius. Powerful when charging forward with the ball, defenders can’t knock him down. He can turn the game around in flashes with lovely turns and dribbles

He was a joy to watch. Wish England had him now.

I’m just glad I was alive to see it

Without doubt the greatest English player of my lifetime. I’m 51. Hard to articulate to today’s young how electrifyingly good he could be.

I absolutely adore gazza my all time favourite player. I dont think il ever see anything like him again in my lifetime.. genius. ❤

Until I saw this, I never gave Gazza enough credit.. lifelong England footy fan and ashamed that he’s never been in my top 5…. can’t argue with these clips however. Astonishingly graceful and mesmerising 👏 👏 😮😮

The most exciting, gifted talented unpredictable player England has ever had.

Of course the likes of scholes, Gerrard and lampard had long successful careers but when it comes down to footballing talent no one could touch Gazza

Complete icon of the game and just such a genuine and loveable person despite his issues there’s only one Gazza

Do we dare forget this person's unreal ability......Rooney grealish foden all amazing but gazza was a one off

Get well soon Gazza, will always love you brother, you mad genius you!

I was just thinking about how good Paul Gascoigne was and that he would be amazing in the current team, then I watched this and was blown away that he was even better than I remember, could have been one of the best ever

I'm an Arsenal fan, but I'm glad I got to meet him once, unexpectedly, years back, when he was at a book store, since shut down, called Sportspages, down Leicester Square, signing his just released autobiography. I wasn't aware he was there beforehand, until, whilst browsing, I turned around and saw him sat down, with no one there at the time to meet him, he could see the shock in my face seeing him there and just smiled back. Had a nice chat with him for a while and some pics taken. I told him I was sat right behind Seaman's goal when he scored that FA Cup semi final free kick, but still could not but admire his awesome skill, despite the sinking feeling. Also told him I thought he was the best English player I'd ever remembered seeing play in my lifetime, exciting and very unpredictable, he instantly said in humility, that he thought Bobby Charlton was the best, for him. I left that store with an even better opinion of Gazza, but mostly felt sorry for him, no one turned up, at least when I was there.

Before I knew of him, I saw this guy onTV, power his way up midfield like a Tank, wow, who the hell is this guy I thought. .... It was 'Gazza'!! Unfortunately I missed seeing his Golden Years as i worked abroad at the time. Never seen the like since.

A player with GOATlike ability!

The guy was an absolute genius! The term 'world class' is used too loosely nowadays, a lot of people think that the current England team has several world class players but that is a piss take out of the genuine world class players. Not many players could stand in the same shadow as gazza, rare talent!!

It’s so easy to forget just how brilliant a footballer he was. I can only imagine how well he would do now against current leaky premiership defences!

He was doing Rabona's before anyone knew what they were. I was privileged to see him play live - even if it was for Sp*rs

I’ve been privileged to see some incredible goals live in my life, Rooney’s over head kick, Bale’s overhead kick, Van persie’s Volley against Villa. But seeing Gazzas Euro 96 goal against Scotland has always stayed with me as one of the most memorable goals I’ve ever seen. The flick over Hendrys head, the goal, the celebration. What a player he was.

Simply Gazza. A force of nature.

Just watching Gascoigne skip around players like they weren’t there, tell me who does that in Euro 2024??

Watched him live at Spurs, especially the season after Italia 90 when he was literally on fire, and had not yet had the cruciate injury. He was an absolute genius passing and dribbling, thank god there is more TV footage than there was for George Best, but still not ever minute was recorded in those days. I hope Foden and Bellingham watch this for inspiration as they have similar potential, and I have not said that since Gazzas days.

Perhaps the one and only English player ever that you could truly call a genius.

His improvisation was really something else, quick thinking always aware of gaps and spaces he could take advantage of. I’d forgotten how good he was.

The best English footballer I have ever seen, he could do it all. Yet he only achieved half of his potential, partly due to injuries but mostly down to his own personal problems.

After watching all thiis footage he shows just how strong a player is when they can use both feet. The guy was and still is a legend.

Gazza was a National Treasure,it was a shame he wasn’t better looked after.

There's so little expression like this any more. Everything is about hard work and 'systems'. I miss this era of football.

Nothing beyter than watching this guy run at players,just class

For talent, the best.

He was one of the most gifted player I've ever seen - definitely Top Five. It says a lot about him when Alex Ferguson picks him out as the best English player since Bobby Charlton. It's a pity it all went downhill after that stupid challenge during the FA Cup final v Nottingham Forest, when he tore his cruciate ligaments. He was never the same player since then. 😢

thanks for showing us this old footage of a geordie legend in depth too so people can see how adept n skillful he was! As for the Jude Bellingham comparisons lets give Jude 10 years and then see! The way the net is now players are judged on a daily basis but back then Gazza had nowt but the daily papers n news broadcasts. To be a legend you have to build it!

Still hasn't been replaced after 26yrs

Always remember that free kick , on my birthday 1991 . superb player

As others have said, Paul Gasgcoine was a once in a lifetime, genius level, elite level footballer. He had everything. _Everything._ Arguably Englands' greatest ever midfielder, and one of the greatest midfielders, and players, of all time. He definitely belongs in the discussions for those kind of legacy icons. One thing that always strikes me about Paul Gasgcoines' play is how few unnecessary touches he takes. He rarely did skill moves just for the sake of it. Every touch of the ball was a vital and functional step in a larger move which he already had mapped out in his lightning quick footballing brain. It's impossible to articulate just how special and unique Paul Gasgcoine was. He was one of those very rare footballing artists, who didn't seem to do things for beauties' sake but everything he did was poetically beautiful by nature. Ronaldinho is another of those very rare artists. Those two, Paul Gasgcoine and Ronaldinho, played the most breath taking beautiful football I have ever seen. Not many fellas can play that kind of football which leaves you speechless.

Put simply, Paul Gascoigne was a *_"ONE MAN FOOTBALL TEAM"_*

A beautiful player. Was a joy to watch

What a player he was! The best English player I've seen play.

I'm old enough to have watched Prime Gazza, Newcastle, Spurs, Lazio. Did he do it enough, no, nor did he do it for long enough and yes he was always injured. But when he turned it on and he really really wanted it, on his day, he was the best player in the world.

Criminal he didn't go to the world cup in 98 man was a genius on the pitch ❤

3:04 Amazing run almost as if the other team don't exist... and then he squares it.Devastating way to take hold of a game. Can you imagine being on the opposing side and watching that happening? He brought his best to international games in a way that lots of other England greats weren't able to do. We had some fantastic results when he was in the team. Thanks Paul for all the memories!

Le Tissier in the same vein, very underrated and under capped by England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It really think it's such a shame he never got the help that he deserved. I think England and the FA let him down, that kind of thing wouldn't happen to a player nowadays. For sure, one of the most existing, talented players ever too have wore an England shirt 💯

England's Maradona!! Pure genius Gazza 💚

Great video and player.

What a comp 🤩 this is really well put together

A Wimbledon fan here and watch Gazza play a few times but not when Vinnie grabbed his Crown Jewels 😂 One of the best players to pull on the England jersey a class act and joker always had a smile on his face👍 Good to see Gazza and Vinnie are mates now go fly fishing together etc.

Saw him from the away end at St James’ Park in 1986. It was like the ball was stuck to his foot.

I think we might have just about got the best of him at Rangers....Phenomenally talented player!

Truly world class and pure joy to watch. Such a shame he never won any major honours

Best player I have seen. Just sad that back then, they never had a 'moral coach' to guide them on their fame and greatness, Such a sad story going forward, just like George Best.

The most gifted midfielder ever we wore lucky to have such a genius should of won the 90 World Cup we had some of the best players in the world

He was the greatest English player ever by a long margin. I rate him the best ever British player too as he could do everything Bestie did and a lot more.

Very nice video, well done.

Of all the goals gazza scored over the years the one that was so sweat for me because of the media was euro 96 against scotland 👏🍻🇬🇧

He was the English Maradona - in skill as well as notoriety!

that little arm elbow he used as he went on a run . when everyone was as tough as nails. he had great strength and could read the game wonderfully. glad to see he's looking a lot more healthier nowadays. world class gets thrown around far too easily nowadays but he really was. its a shame about the booze. its cost many a talent on the British isles. I blame the weather....well what else ae you gonna do on a rainy October afternoon

I'm convinced we would have won the World Cup in 98 if Hoddle had taken Gazza, not had the best season but proved he'd still got it when he went to Rangers and a lot of the team thought he'd done enough in the training camp. He always showed up for England and Gazza is a better choice than Batty or Rob Lee. Scholes and Gazza in the same team would have been beautiful.

Phenomenal player, Gascoigne. Injuries & weight issues stunted his career from having the consistent elite level longevity, it should have had. At full tilt, he was as good as any European player I've seen since the 1980s. Which includes, Platini, Matthäus, Van Basten, Laudrup, Baggio, Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, he was a tier down to Cruyff, Beckenbauer & just behind George Best for Britains greatest player & not on the level of the three best players I've ever seen. Pelé, Maradona, Messi.

One of the rare very gifted British players . Mostly remembered for his drinking skills and his tears from being denied playing for his country. You can thank the papers for the anti sensationalism of this icons career and and life . After his death he will be respectfully remembered.

I'll never forget that Scotland goal at Euro 96. Who else could have done that ??

the blenish for me is the unforgivable foul in fa cup final that day he came out like an absolute nutter from the off

Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Johnny Haynes, Bryan Robson, Glen Hoddle

They loved him in Italy cos he took the piss every week. Wonderful footballer.

Watching him drive through midfield with sublime skill and balance makes you stop and think about the kind of football we are served up today. Most modern players would have simply have passed sideways or backwards to try and retain possession. All of the creativity and individuality is being coached out of modern players.😢

Was never the same after the Gary Charles tackle.

Great player, highly skilled with a flair and imagination that left other greats in his wake. There were only two things he couldn't do, 1) tackle - many of his tackles left either him or his opponent injured, 2) stay off the drink and drugs - injury didn't help with this.

I like how he gets passed two opponents but then turns around just to get passed them again.

I watched a Lazio match live on TV and he made a pass. Sadly it wasn’t on this video but I still think about it from time to time. Was nt even looking and just sprayed the ball 40 yards

😅😅😅Gazza could really play he was really gifted n good!

Fantastic player

Mainoo needs to watch this carefully. This is what you call a midfielder!!!

Bravo for putting all this footage together its the best gazza vid out there, where did you get it all?

Thing is if you aren’t from football cities like liverpool or manchester you aren’t tethered to a club where your success isn’t defined and consequently your global reputation. Sometimes it works well see trent/scholes (winning eras) sometimes it works against you see gerrard/rashford (bad eras). Anyway to my point players like gazza and bellingham are from cities that like football but lack the big clubs so are more free to go abroad and do their thing. Gerrard could have played for madrid, scholes could have played for barca but they didn’t due to the pressures of their cities

Best English player I've ever seen...by a country mile

It's the ball control, composure and confidence something which the new bunch have zero of.

will we ever get someone like him

genius

His skills of dance around a player to beat them caused them to foul him pulling him down . Gascoigne never adopted the theatricals of pretending a fowl. Referees had a respect for his conduct.

Great music

Truly one on the worlds greatest footballers of all time. If it weren't for the fact he's English, plus all the drinking problems and stuff, he'd be held in the same regard as players like Pele.

Kills me to say this but he was phenomenal 👍

The cheek to pull a Cruyff turm against the Dutch at EURO '96. Sublime.

Underrated he was special really

Best player England has ever produced. Bar none!