Ex-Liverpool legend Carragher faces bankruptcy over £700,000 tax debt

Former Liverpool and England defender turned football pundit Jamie Carragher, is facing a bankruptcy petition over an unpaid tax bill reportedly estimated at between £700,000 and £800,000.

Documents seen by the BBC showed that a case was filed against James Lee Duncan Carragher on Wednesday.

The bankruptcy petition was filed by lawyers representing HM Revenue and Customs and was first reported by City AM.

An HMRC spokesperson told BBC Sport that the agency does not comment on individual cases but said it supports customers who have tax debts and works with them to resolve such issues.

We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and do everything we can to help those who engage with us to get out of debt, such as offering instalment plans,” the spokesperson said.

“We only petition for bankruptcy as a last resort.”

Carragher, who played for Liverpool between 1996 and 2013, has since become a prominent football pundit and regularly features on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage, the Stick to Football show and CBS Sports’ Champions League programming.

A spokesperson for Carragher described the matter as a private tax issue and said steps were being taken to resolve it.

“This is a private tax matter that should have been resolved sooner, and the appropriate steps are being taken today to settle it,” the spokesperson said.

“It is understood that the matter will not proceed any further and will be resolved imminently.”

Carragher is not the only former footballer to have faced tax-related financial difficulties after his playing career.

Former England internationals David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have all been declared bankrupt, while Carragher’s former Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey lost a legal battle over an unpaid £1.637 million tax bill in 2024.

In 2025, former England international Trevor Sinclair was declared bankrupt after failing to pay a tax bill of more than £36,000. In the same year, former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips was petitioned for bankruptcy by HMRC at the High Court in London.

Last September, it was also revealed that up to 200 footballers could have lost tens of millions of pounds, with some losing their homes and being declared bankrupt.

Former England midfielder and Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has said he lost about £5 million as a result of what he described as “financial abuse.”