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August 28 – Former Liverpool and England defender turned pundit Jamie Carragher faces being declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill, said to be in the region of £700,000 to £800,000. Documents seen by the BBC show a case was filed against James Lee Duncan Carragher on Wednesday. The bankruptcy petition, lodged by lawyers representing HMRC, was first reported by City AM. HMRC declined to comment on the individual case but stressed its general approach. “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts,” a spokesperson said, offering instalment plans, and adding: “We only petition for bankruptcy as a last resort.” Carragher, who played for Liverpool from 1996 to 2013, is now a fixture on Sky Sports, the Stick To Football show and CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage. His representatives were keen to play the matter down. “This is a private tax matter that should have been resolved sooner,” a spokesperson said, adding that the appropriate steps were being taken and that it “will be resolved imminently.” A large number of players were encouraged by advisors to invest large sums in tax free film funds that, while tax free at the time, were always potentially liable to become taxable. The Tony Blair government between 2004 and 2007 closed down the tax loopholes and tasked the HMRC to collect back taxes, which reclassified many of these legacy setups as aggressive tax evasion, leaving many former players facing multi-million-pound bills for back taxes. Carragher is far from alone among former players facing such trouble. David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have all been declared bankrupt, while former Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey lost a legal battle over a £1.637 million tax bill in 2024. Trevor Sinclair and Shaun Wright-Phillips both faced action in 2025. Last September, it emerged that up to 200 footballers may have lost tens of millions of pounds, some losing their homes and being made bankrupt. A number of players have committed suicide when suddenly faced with tax bills they had no means of paying. Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]