Carragher faces bankruptcy petition over unpaid tax bill
Former Liverpool defender and pundit Jamie Carragher is facing a bankruptcy petition filed by HMRC over an unpaid tax bill believed to be between £700,000 and £800,000. His spokesperson says the matter will be resolved imminently.
Former Liverpool and England defender turned television pundit Jamie Carragher is facing the possibility of being declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill reported to be in the region of £700,000 to £800,000.
Documents seen by the BBC show that a case was filed against Carragher on Wednesday. The bankruptcy petition was lodged by lawyers acting for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and was first reported by City AM.
An HMRC spokesperson told BBC Sport it does not comment on individual cases, but said the agency takes a supportive approach with taxpayers who have debts, including offering instalment plans, and only pursues bankruptcy petitions as a last resort.
Carragher, who played for Liverpool from 1996 to 2013, is now a regular face on Sky Sports' Premier League coverage, the Stick To Football show and CBS Sports' Champions League output.
A spokesperson for Carragher said the matter is a private tax issue that should have been dealt with sooner, adding that appropriate steps were being taken to settle it and that it is expected to be resolved shortly without proceeding further.
Other footballers hit by tax issues
Carragher is far from the only former player to run into tax trouble after retiring. Ex-England internationals David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have all previously been declared bankrupt, while Carragher's former Liverpool team-mate Emile Heskey lost a legal fight in 2024 over an unpaid tax bill of £1.637m.
In 2025, former winger Trevor Sinclair was made bankrupt after failing to settle a tax bill of more than £36,000, and Shaun Wright-Phillips was also petitioned for bankruptcy by HMRC at London's High Court the same year.
Last September, it emerged that as many as 200 footballers may collectively have lost tens of millions of pounds through poor financial advice, with some losing their homes or being declared bankrupt. Former England midfielder and Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has said he believes he lost around £5m due to what he called "financial abuse".
