‘At Spurs, the lads said I wasn’t funny, so I brought an ostrich to training’ Paul Gascoigne recalls one of his most infamous pranks

Paul Gascoigne’s ability to land a prank was second only to his ability with a football.

Any player who ever shared a dressing room or training ground with him will no doubt be on the receiving end of one of Gazza’s infamous stunts, with the former England man never needing much encouragement to push the boundaries.

And if a team-mate ever doubted his ability to pull off a memorable stunt, that’s exactly when Gazza would take it to the next level.

Gazza on his infamous ostrich prank

“At Spurs, the lads said I wasn’t funny.” Gazza recalls to FourFourTwo. “So I went, ‘I’ll show you.’”

And show them he did, with the ensuing stunt - like many of Gazza’s best - involved an animal and some serious thinking outside the box.

“I went past this f**king zoo and thought, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’” Gazza continues, as he spent the night hatching a plan.

“The next morning I went in and asked to borrow an ostrich,” he adds, with his request somehow being granted.

“I waited until the lads were warming up and sent it on the pitch, it was f**king funny.

“The funniest thing was we finished training at 12.30pm, then I tried to catch the ostrich – f**k, it took me about three hours, I was f**ked!

“But we got it and took it back. There were feathers all over the place!”

No part of this story, from the willing zookeeper to the training ground scramble, could ever happen again these days, but it’s another reminder of Gazza’s unique way of seeing the world - and why it was never a good idea to tell him he wasn’t funny.

Paul Gascoigne: Eight (published by Reach Sport) is on sale now in print, ebook and audiobook