I caught this snake, put it in a plastic bag and put it in Roberto Di Matteo's pocket after training. Then I asked if he could lend me some money, so he'd put his hand in his pocket' Paul Gascoigne on his best pranks

"We were all s**tting ourselves about the match, he tells FourFourTwo. So I went to a pet shop, bought a little mouse and put it in the top pocket of my Lazio jacket. Dino Zoff was doing a team talk and this f**king mouse kept on coming out onto my shoulder. I was like, F**k off' and kept on putting it back down again. Then the president came in and went, Right guys, I want to give you five grand if you win today.'"

"I said, Make it 10 grand, because I have to pay the mouse five grand.' I scored that game, then afterwards I found the mouse in the dressing room, said Cheers' and pushed it back in my pocket. I'd get bored, he says matter of factly. And which one was his favourite? I caught this snake, put it in a plastic bag"

Paul Gascoigne frequently used practical jokes to lighten mood and relieve matchday tension. He bought a live mouse to hide in his Lazio jacket to distract teammates during a derby against Roma, repeatedly letting it emerge during a team talk and negotiating a mock payout with the club president. He scored in that game and reused the mouse afterwards. Gascoigne admitted boredom as a motive for many pranks. He described more extreme stunts, including placing a trapped snake in Roberto Di Matteo’s pocket after training. A compiled miscellany captures dozens of such stories from his career.

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