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

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.

"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"

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