Former England and Liverpool football star John Barnes is facing a fresh bankruptcy threat after reportedly accumulating more than £1.5 million in unpaid debts. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently filed a bankruptcy petition at the High Court, following revelations that Barnes’s media company, John Barnes Media Limited, owed nearly £800,000 to the tax authority.
The 61-year-old, who won two league titles and two FA Cups during a celebrated 10-year spell at Liverpool, was disqualified from serving as a company director for three and a half years in 2024. Investigators found his company had failed to pay over £78,000 in corporation tax between August 2018 and January 2020.
According to liquidators, the company owed HMRC £776,878 in unpaid VAT, National Insurance contributions, and PAYE. Additional debts included £461,849 to unsecured creditors, a £226,000 director’s loan, and £56,535 in liquidators’ fees. While a small distribution to HMRC was expected, reports indicated there would be “no funds” available for unsecured creditors.
Mike Smith, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
“Individuals and businesses not paying the tax they should deprives the Government of the funding it needs to provide vital public services and investment in areas such as schools, hospitals, and roads. John Barnes had a legal duty to ensure his company paid the correct amount of corporation tax and VAT. Instead, it paid no tax whatsoever between November 2018 and October 2020, despite receiving earnings of well over £400,000.”
Barnes established his media company in 2012, following his retirement from professional football. The business ceased operations in January 2020. The Insolvency Service revealed that, between February 2019 and February 2020, the company failed to pay £78,839 in corporation tax and £115,272 in VAT, despite having filed returns acknowledging the debts.
The former England winger, who earned 79 caps for his country, has faced several bankruptcy petitions since 2010. In 2023, he narrowly avoided bankruptcy after settling a personal tax debt of over £200,000. That case, along with another petition later that year, was dismissed after the debts were repaid.
In a 2009 interview, Barnes spoke candidly about his financial management:
“I don’t like dealing with taxes, of course. I just hate not having enough money. Apart from that, I don’t like dealing with bills and never have done. I let my wife Andrea deal with them. I don’t even like opening them.”
Barnes, who also managed Tranmere Rovers and the Jamaican national team, has so far repaid £60,000 of the director’s loan and is reportedly repaying the remaining balance in instalments.
The latest petition underscores the ongoing financial troubles facing the football legend, marking yet another chapter in his long-running struggles with debt and tax issues.
