Football legend John Barnes, who was the first £10,000-a-week player, has opened up about his tax nightmare.
The ex-Liverpool and Watford winger said he has been paying His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the past eight years after suffering heavy losses from poorly advised investments.
He spoke out to the All Things Business podcast to clear up what he says are misleading reports about his financial affairs.
Barnes said he had repaid around £2.2million since 2017 and continues to pay £10,000 each month under arrangements agreed with the tax authority.
In April last year the Insolvency Service banned Barnes, 60, from acting as a company director after his business failed to pay £190,000 in taxes.
Earlier this month of August, it was reported that HMRC had lodged a petition against him at the High Court over unpaid debts of £1.5million.
Speaking to the podcast the England star 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.”
He said since then, when he has been served with petitions, he and his legal representatives have gone to court to make arrangements to pay because he does not want to be made bankrupt.
Barnes 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.”
He said negative stories surrounding his finances had prevented him from getting a regular line of work. He said because of this some companies, particularly the banking and financial sector, had, understandably, stopped inviting him to speak.
He added he was still earning through professional engagements and didn’t allow his struggle with HMRC to affect his attitude towards life.
“I’ve had a few sleepless nights, but it’s not had a major impact because I look at the way the world is and there are lots of people struggling more than me. And as long as I am able to work and to pay, I am just thankful. What have I got to complain about?
“But what does matter is that I reassure people, and the reason I am speaking about this now is because the narrative around me is so negative. I have been so fortunate in my life to still be able to work and pay my bills and my kids have a roof over their head and food on the table.
“The only reason I’m doing this is because people have been saying things that are not true, and I don’t want anyone thinking of me as John Barnes, ex-professional footballer, hiding all his money and not paying taxes.”
Barnes won 79 England caps between 1983 and 1995 and was head coach at Celtic after ending his playing career.
