Vinnie Jones’ Gazza painting
Vinnie Jones commissioned a giant oil painting of him grabbing Paul Gascoigne’s testicles.
The soccer star turned Hollywood actor is so proud of the moment – which occurred during a Wimbledon versus Newcastle United game in 1988 – that he paid a London artist £1,750 in 1991 to immortalise it and the painting now takes pride of place in his Los Angeles home.
He told CALIBRE Quarterly Magazine: "That photo is one of the most recognisable moments in football, and is the one that most fans ask me to autograph.
"I played well in that game, and wanted something to remember it by. Rather than hang a photograph, which was widely in circulation, I commissioned an artist to paint it for me."
The shot, which shows Gascoigne reacting in agony, has become one of the most iconic images in English football history.
The £1,750 amount Vinnie, 51, paid for the painting in 1991 was roughly equivalent to a week’s wages for him at the time but Vinnie – who will be hosting the 45,000-capacity Hyundai FanDome experience in London for Euro 2016 – feels it was money well spent.
Speaking about the 4ft x 3ft mural, he said: "I paid a hefty sum for it back in 1991, and I’ve kept hold of it. It’s now one of the first things that people see when they come to our house."
