The bankruptcy is rooted in the collapse of Barnes’ now-defunct business, John Barnes Media Limited. Liquidators revealed staggering debts, including nearly £777,000 owed to HMRC in unpaid VAT, National Insurance and PAYE. On top of that, Barnes’ company still had £461,849 in unsecured debts and a £226,000 director’s loan hanging over it. Barnes had already been barred from serving as a company director for three and a half years due to these financial issues, and despite chipping away at the mess with instalment payments, the hole was simply too deep, as reported by The Independent.
It’s a bitter fall from grace for the man who once made history as English football’s first £10,000-a-week player. Back in the late ‘80s, Barnes was the face of a new era of big money in football. Now, decades later, he’s being used as a warning. The court ruling has been described as intended to “serve as a deterrent” to other high-profile figures tempted to ignore mounting tax and company liabilities.
This is far from the first time Barnes has been in the dock over his finances. Since 2010, he’s faced multiple bankruptcy petitions, including one last year when HMRC hit him with a £238,000 tax bill. That case was eventually settled, but this time, Barnes has not been able to wriggle free.
Barnes has admitted that poor advice and misplaced trust led to his downfall. Speaking on the All Things Business podcast earlier this year, he laid bare the staggering figures: “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.”
The Liverpool legend also blasted what he sees as misleading reports about his financial affairs.
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.”
The ex-England star, who earned 79 caps and won two league titles with Liverpool, said he didn’t want working-class fans to think he was cheating the system.
“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,” he said. “It would be easy to be made bankrupt because they can’t take anything else from me.”
Barnes’ playing career was glittered with moments of magic – dazzling wing play, unforgettable goals, and a crucial role in Liverpool’s dominance of the late 1980s. But his life after football has been one of relentless financial battles. The once-celebrated winger now stands as a stark reminder that even the brightest stars can fall victim to financial mismanagement, bad advice, and brutal tax realities.
