George Best's former wife Alex has expressed her sadness surrounding the state of troubled former England international Paul Gascoigne.

ITV documentary Being Paul Gascoigne aired this week, giving an insight to the 46-year-old's life, which has been marred by alcohol addiction.

Gascoigne was sent to a rehab facility in the US during the summer, but a matter of weeks later was fined £1,000 for a drunken assault at a railway station in Stevenage.

Best's ex-wife Alex tweeted that watching the documentary brought back memories of her former husband, who died in 2005 at the age of 59 due to multiple organ failure.

"Watching the Gazza programme," she wrote. "Brings back so many similarities to George. Heartbreaking. Let's pray Gazza beats the demons. God bless him."

Reports emerged this week claiming that Gascoigne was asked to leave a betting shop in Bournemouth after spending £4,000 on football bets.