Paul Gascoigne's ex-wife Sheryl is said to be scared that the former England footballer will die following a lengthy issue with alcohol.
The 46-year-old was fined £1,000 for a drunken assault at a railway station in Stevenage in the summer following a stint at a rehab facility in the United States.
Sheryl is said to have told her friend Lizzie Cundy that she is worried that the retired professional could die in a similar way to ex-Manchester United star George Best, who passed away from organ failure at the age of 59.
"Paul is in a very bad way at the moment," the Daily Star quotes Cundy as saying. "We don't know what's going to happen.
"It's just like George Best. It's the same pattern, the same story. Sheryl is fearing the worst – that he'll die. Everyone is because he's in an horrific way."
Sheryl and Gascoigne divorced 15 years ago.