Liverpool legend John Barnes declared bankrupt after company racks up £1.5m debt | OneFootball

John Barnes has been declared bankrupt after running up debts of more than £1.5m through his media firm.

A bankruptcy order was issued in the High Court of Justice last week before being published in the London Gazette on Tuesday.

The issue stems from his now-liquidated company John Barnes Media Limited, of which the Liverpool legend had been banned from being a director for three and a half years due to the debts.

Liquidators’ reports show he owed HMRC £776,878 in unpaid VAT, National Insurance, and PAYE, alongside £461,849 to unsecured creditors and a £226,000 directors loan. Barnes has so far paid back £60,000 after agreeing to return the directors loan in instalments.

The former winger, who was the first player to earn £10,000-a-week, has faced multiple bankruptcy petitions since 2010, including one in 2023 which related to a £238,000 personal tax bill that was settled at the final hour.

Barnes previously revealed how he has been poorly guided financially over the years and spoke on the All Things Business podcast about the eye-watering amount he has had to give to the taxman.

“Like a lot of elite sportspeople, I got burned because I trusted people, I got caught out a couple of times and ended up losing between £1m and £1.5m over four years,” he said in August.

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Liverpool legend John Barnes has been declared bankrupt (PA Media)

“In 2017, I began talking to HMRC about what I could do to repay what I owed.”

The 61-year-old said that he has repaid £2.2m since 2017 and continues to pay £10,000 each month.

Barnes also addressed what he claims are misleading reports about his financial affairs, reaffirming his commitment to repaying what he owes.

He added: “I know how hard it is for people out there. I don’t want to say there are loopholes, or that I can get away with this or that, or have people think I can be made bankrupt and keep my assets, because I’ve already sold everything. I don’t have any assets.

“But every time something new comes up, stories appear in the press saying negative things about how I am not paying my taxes, even though I’m going to court, not to be made bankrupt, but to ask for permission to keep paying.

“Football is a working-class sport, and I don’t want hard working people thinking I’ve got all this money and I won’t pay tax. It would be easy to be made bankrupt because they can’t take anything else from me.”

Barnes earned 79 England caps during a playing career spanning almost two decades, in which he won two league titles with Liverpool.