England and Liverpool legend John Barnes has been declared bankrupt after his media firm racked up debts of £1.5million.
It emerged Tuesday that the bankruptcy order was issued against Barnes, 61, by the High Court of Justice on September 23. The notice was published by the London Gazette.
The issue relates to his now-liquidated company, John Barnes Media. The ex-footballer had previously been banned from being a director for three and a half years relating to the debts.
Barnes, also known for his stints at Newcastle and Watford, owes HMRC £776,878 in unpaid VAT, NI and PAYE, £461,849 to unsecured creditors, a £226,000 directors loan and liquidator’s costs worth £56,535.
He has so far paid back £60,000 after agreeing to return the directors loan in instalments.
Barnes has received six separate bankruptcy petitions since 2010.
England legend John Barnes has racked up over £1.5million in debt in his media firm
Barnes, 61, had accumulated debts of over £1.5m in his media firm and was banned as director
Barnes has been paying back HM Revenue and Customs for eight years and in August, he revealed the staggering amount he gives to the taxman.
Speaking to the All Things Business podcast, he addressed what he claims are misleading reports about his financial affairs. He also said that he has repaid around £2.2m since 2017, and continues to pay £10,000 each month.
Barnes said: ‘I was making a lot of money, I was the first £10,000 a week footballer and benefited from that for a few years.
‘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.
‘In 2017, I began talking to HMRC about what I could do to repay what I owed.’
Barnes said that when he had been served with petitions, he had gone to court to make arrangements to pay in a bid to avoid being made bankrupt.
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.
He said that he has repaid around £2.2m since 2017, and continues to pay £10,000 each month
‘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’ company went into liquidation two years after failing to pay more than £190,000 in tax.
The Insolvency Service said Barnes’ media representation company had failed to pay £190,000 in taxes. Barnes was the only listed director of the firm.
An investigation was launched and discovered that between November 2018 and October 2020, the company had paid no tax at all despite a turnover of £441,798.
Barnes won 79 England caps between 1983 and 1995. He has not yet commented on the bankruptcy ruling.
