Wayne Lineker: My Rift with Gary and Sobriety

He is known as ‘The King of Ibiza’, for years flaunting his lavish party lifestyle all over social media.

But as Wayne Lineker moves back to the White Isle for this summer season, his focus has shifted from drinks, drugs and partying to health and fitness.

When the Daily Mail caught up with him at Bonito, his hotel in Ibiza, an upbeat Wayne ordered a glass of water, explaining he was in the middle of another four-day fast.

‘Every day is a blessing for me. I shouldn’t really be here,’ the 64-year-old tells me.

Having consumed what he estimates to be 52,000 drinks over the past 13 years, as well as using drugs, Wayne admits that, for years, he was living on ‘vodka and Red Bull and cheese toasties’.

Wayne is almost one-year sober, but five months into his lifestyle revamp, he was whisked to hospital, where he stayed for seven weeks after suffering two severe attacks of .

That was a wake-up call and he is now focused on living a healthier lifestyle and reversing the damage he has done to his body. Even his doctor of 12 years is shocked by Wayne’s transformation.

Wayne said: ‘I’m very health-conscious now because I want to be around for my grandchildren getting married, and all my results show that it’s working.

‘I went to see my doctor for my annual check-ups in April. I’ve been using him for 12 years, so he’s seen me at my worst. We did blood tests and all of the checks.

‘He said to me when I came in, “Wayne, I’ve never seen you in this health. It is fantastic to see, you can tell you’re not taking any drugs or drinking. All your blood tests are just phenomenal for your age. Well done.”

‘After the pneumonia, I was close to death – really close to death twice. Even my son, Sean, was in the hospital with me and they told him: “We think you’re going to lose your dad.” They were preparing to call the family in to say goodbye. It was that close.

‘It has taken until now to fully recover from that. For months, my body felt different aches and pains.

‘Now I go to bed before 11pm, and I’m up early. I don’t do clubs any more.

‘I go to the gym every single morning – I never miss it. I fast every night until lunchtime and also do between four and seven-day water fasts. I eat healthy foods, and I take supplements and peptides as well.

‘I’ll take anything I can to keep me healthy now. If you are drinking and taking drugs, it is all a complete waste of time.

‘My days are very settled now. The rewards for being sober are incredible: I wake up fresh, and that feeling is amazing.’

The star, who has three sons Duane, 41, Sean, 33, and Freddie, 21 – along with daughter Tia, 27 – has previously admitted that his drinking was taking a toll on his family. He has previously said he is on good terms with the mothers of his children, whose names have not all been disclosed.

Wayne, who also has three grandchildren, claims the wake-up call came when his son Duane told him it was no longer safe for him to pick his grandkids up from school due to his drinking.

And so Wayne had his last drop of alcohol – a glass of red wine – at Ibiza airport on July 7 while he waited for a flight back to Stansted. He spent a few days at a spa before checking into The Priory Life Works House rehab facility in Surrey for six weeks.

In April, he flew out to Ibiza for the first time since getting sober, and after a couple of weeks realised he wasn’t ready for the party scene.

‘I found it challenging. I went straight into Ocean [O Beach, the club Wayne owns on Ibiza], and the whole scenario was really hard. I just wasn’t mentally prepared.

‘I went back home for a few weeks, and I just planned it better this time.

‘Now that I’ve moved back permanently for the summer, I plan to stay here. I will only go to Ocean for three to four hours a day, instead of being the first man in and the last man out.

‘The plan is to reduce my hours and spend more time with my family.’

Indeed, Wayne’s relationship with his family is stronger than ever, including with his football pundit brother Gary. The pair recently put their 17-year feud to bed.

The breakdown of the sibling relationship has always been a sore point for both and though neither brother has ever discussed it in any detail, it was understood to be linked to a fallout over Gary’s then-fiancee Danielle Bux, with whom Wayne ‘didn’t spark’ when they first met.

But that’s all water under the bridge, with Wayne gushing about his family: ‘I’ve always had their support, but our relationship has progressed a lot since seeing how well I’ve done for them. Even my relationship with my brother is good now, and I’m very close with his children.

‘We’re all just really close. Gary and I had that time apart, many years apart. But now, we speak often. He came to Ibiza for his son’s wedding, but he stayed well away from Ocean Beach. I don’t think it’s Gary’s scene!’ he says, laughing.

Wayne’s children and grandchildren will join him in Ibiza in July to mark his one-year sober milestone.

He also credits his business partner, Tony Truman, for helping him escape the cycle of drinking and drugs.