‘Wish I had passed away and met Sir Bobby upstairs’, says Paul Gascoigne

Troubled British football legend Paul Gascoigne has said that he sometimes wishes that his recent car crash had been fatal, so that he could be with his hero and former England manager Sir Bobby Robson.

Robson died of lung cancer on July 31 last year at his home in Durham after a long battle with the disease.

“I miss him so much. I’m a big fan. In that car crash I sometimes wish if I had passed away I could meet Sir Bobby upstairs instead,” The Sun quoted Gascoigne, as saying.

“I would say to Bobby, ‘How are you? After matches he’d hug the players and say, ‘You did well for me’. I loved that about him. He was a great man,” he added.

He is also devastated that England crashed out of the World Cup after their Round of 16 defeat against Germany on Sunday.

“I just wish our World Cup squad could have won in South Africa for Sir Bobby,” he added.

Gascoigne suffered serious injuries, described as “serious, but not life-threatening”, in the accident in Newcastle.

The 43-year-old, who became a global star after his performances at the 1990 World Cup, was a passenger in a car, which is believed to have left the road before hitting a signpost.

The driver of the car, a 36-year-old woman, was discharged from the hospital and arrested on suspicion of drink driving.