White Hart Lane received the send-off it so richly deserved following Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.This was Spurs’ last-ever game at their historic ground in north London ahead of their move to their new stadium next door, which is expected to cost an eye-watering £800 million in total.Some of the best players in Tottenham’s history were paraded in front of the crowd after the match, including Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles and David Ginola.However, there was one notable absentee.

Paul Gascoigne lit up the Lane during his four years with the club in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the 49-year-old was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, much to the disappointment of the fans.

Fans were wondering why Gazza wasn't at the Lane

People on Twitter wondered why Tottenham hadn’t invited the former world-class midfielder, who has suffered from alcoholism for over a decade now.

Tottenham fans inside the stadium, meanwhile, chanted "There's only one Paul Gascoigne" in tribute to their hero.

Why Gazza didn't attend the ceremony

However, it turns out Gazza *was* invited by Spurs to attend the ceremony - but his rejection didn’t come as a shock to the club.

According to the Telegraph, Gascoigne’s absence was expected and was borne of a fear of being around so much revelry.

He confirmed an interview last week that he wanted to “focus on staying well” rather than travelling to the Lane.

Gazza sends message to the Spurs fans

Gazza did, however, send a message to the Tottenham fans.

“First of all, sorry I can’t get there. I’d like to thank every one of you for one of the best times in my football career,” he said. “The time I had at Spurs was phenomenal. The thing is, sometimes I wish I hated it, because then I wouldn’t miss it so much.

“I enjoyed every minute of it. I was excited to go out and train every day. My time at Spurs was one of the best ever.

“The worst thing is when I watch them I think about my time there and that’s a time I can never get back. So it’s just a massive thank you for everything the fans gave me and the club over the four years I had there and no doubt I’ll be there at the new stadium.”

The former England international has often talked about his failure to cope the transition of playing football every week to retirement.

And it seems he didn’t want to suffer more pain by watching the Tottenham players do the things he once could but no longer can.

Gazza: 'It's been the worst year of my life'

Gazza also revealed that it’s been a particularly traumatic year for him, with the untimely death of his 22-year-old nephew, Jay Kerrigan, casting a dark shadow over his world.

“I’ve had a good life, just this year’s has been worse,” he told Good Morning Britain last week, per The Sun. “Probably the worst of my life.”

He added: “I haven’t had the best of years and I was doing really well until Jay.

“He wasn’t in a good way..

“I’ve just had a terrible year. I’ve had these blips and things got the better of me.

“Then I had these tours and the drink got the better of me.”

Let’s hope Gazza continues to get the support he needs and finally finds some peace in his life.