But the stocky midfielder left Tyneside to find fame and fortune in London with "bigger club" Tottenham Hotspur, just like his schoolboy hero Chris Waddle.
Gazza - No Regrets Leaving Newcastle?
But the stocky midfielder left Tyneside to find fame and fortune in London with "bigger club" Tottenham Hotspur, just like his schoolboy hero Chris Waddle.
Everyone has regrets in life, and Gazza told the Sunday Mail he had three regrets in football, and I would have thought leaving Newcastle would have been one. But that is not the case. When he returned for the odd visit he had more than his share of troubles including a fight in a nightclub, and an incident when his sister was involved in a fight in the city centre.
Those three regrets ... leaving Rangers, Tottenham and Everton.
Gazza: "I didn't want to leave Glasgow but had a few problems at the time.
"I was going through my divorce and it wasn't fair to Rangers to stay.
"It's one of my biggest regrets that I left. You don't know it at the time but I should have stayed.
"I also probably left Spurs two years too early when I signed for Lazio. And my other regret is leaving Everton to join Burnley. I still can't understand that."