Paul Gascoigne reveals truth about rejecting Man Utd after phone call with Sir Alex Ferguson

Paul Gascoigne claims he snubbed Manchester United because Tottenham offered him financial incentives - including a car for his dad and sunbed for his sister.

The England legend was all set to sign for Man United in 1988 after impressing at Newcastle but a late change of heart saw the mercurial midfielder U-turn at the eleventh hour. Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, Gascoigne regaled his hosts with a wild story of how he snubbed Sir Alex Ferguson.

Gascogine's admission had Lineker and Richards in fits of laughter as the 57-year-old disclosed what took place following a conversation with the legendary United boss.

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"Sir Alex Ferguson called us and said, 'I want to sign you' and I went, 'OK, I'll sign' so I went on holiday and he said, 'When you come back from holiday will you be at Old Trafford' and I said, 'Yeah', so I told my dad, 'I'm going to Old Trafford' and he said, 'Brilliant' then two days later the phone went and it was Irving Scholar (former Tottenham chairman)."

The former Lazio man divulged that it was the promise of a bonus for his dad that forced both Gascoigne junior, and senior, to lean toward White Heart Lane. He added: "I said, 'Dad, it's Tottenham', and he said, 'Tell them to f**** off, you're singing for Man United', so I said, 'F**** off I'm signing for Man United', so Irving says, 'Tell your dad I'll give him £120,000', so I said, 'Dad they're going to give you £120,000 if I sign for Tottenham' and he went, 'What are you waiting for then son?''

In a barely believable twist, Gascoigne then explained how it wasn't just financial incentive that sweetened the deal but the promise of gifts for his family -including a sunbed. He said: "I went, 'Oh yeah I think I'm about to sign for Tottenham'. He (his dad) hadn't moved off the chair and he said, 'I want a BMW soft top with a private reg', so I rang Irving back and said, 'Can me dad have that?' and he said, 'Oh yeah, consider it done'.

"So I passed Old Trafford on the way (to Spurs) and I was worried but then as I got close I rang my sister and she said, 'Paul, if my mum is getting a house and dad's getting a car, then I want a sunbed', so the deal was done on the sunbed."

Gascoigne went on to become an icon at Spurs where he won the FA Cup in 1991 while playing some of the finest football of his career. Sir Alex was reportedly furious with the ex-England international for years with Gascoigne even claiming that the legendary Scotsman refused to speak to him. However, the two eventually patched things up with Ferguson stating that Gascoigne is one of the players he always regretted missing out on.