United wanted to sign Gazza when he left Newcastle, but instead he joined Tottenham.
“I let Sir Alex Ferguson down, and that’s one thing you should never do. If you want to further your career in football, you don’t let him down,” Gascoigne told Setanta Sports News.
“What happened was, I told him I was signing, I told him to go on holiday and enjoy himself. But then all the Newcastle fans wanted me to sign for Spurs because United had just beaten Newcastle 7-2.
“I eventually signed for Tottenham, which I don’t regret because of the Cup final and because I got to work with Terry Venables.
“But when you look at all these young kids who are still there winning trophies, I have a big trophy cabinet, but I could have had another couple of cabinets if I’d gone to United.
“I don’t like to admit it, but I would loved to have played for Sir Alex Ferguson. You see the fans, the stadium, the Academies, you see the way Rooney, Ronaldo and Becks have come on…Sir Alex turns boys into men.
“Some of the things I did off the field, Sir Alex would have corrected it within a minute. He would have put me right.”
He continued: “It took me six years to pluck up the courage to sign for them again, but then they had Eric Cantona.
“Sir Alex would have looked after me, I could have played until I was 38 perhaps.
“Plus my idol Bryan Robson was there, maybe I should have signed for them. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity of playing abroad like Tottenham gave me, but I would have had the experience of working under Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Of course, it is a regret when you consider the trophies and the opportunity of playing under the best manager in the world.”
