Former Reggae Boyz coach and England soccer legend John Barnes has been declared bankrupt on the age of 61, following monetary troubles tied to his now-liquidated firm, John Barnes Media Restricted.
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A chapter discover was revealed within the London Gazette after a petition was filed by HM Income & Customs (HMRC) in August. In response to the latest liquidators’ report, Barnes owed HMRC greater than £776,000 in unpaid taxes, along with over £461,000 to unsecured collectors, a director’s mortgage of £226,000, and liquidators’ prices of simply over £56,000. The corporate’s money owed totaled round £1.5 million.
Barnes had spent the final eight years repaying HMRC, but it surely emerged final month that he confronted a renewed chapter risk. Talking on the All Issues Enterprise podcast, the previous midfielder revealed that a part of his monetary difficulties stemmed from investing in a Ponzi scheme in Jamaica.
The Kingston-born soccer icon loved a glittering profession earlier than his off-field struggles. Raised in Jamaica by a Trinidadian father and Jamaican mom, Barnes moved to London at age 12 and joined Watford at 17. He went on to play 296 video games and rating 85 targets for the membership earlier than transferring to Liverpool in 1987 for £900,000. Over the following decade, he turned a star at Anfield, profitable two First Division titles and two FA Cups, scoring 106 targets in 403 appearances. He additionally earned 79 caps for England, changing into the nation’s most-capped Black participant on the time of his retirement from worldwide soccer in 1995.
Barnes later performed for Newcastle United and Charlton Athletic earlier than retiring in 1999. He transitioned into administration, taking cost of Celtic, Tranmere Rovers, and the Jamaica nationwide group, the place he guided the Reggae Boyz to victory within the 2008 Caribbean Championship and qualification for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has additionally labored as a soccer pundit and revealed a e book in 2021.
Regardless of his monetary setbacks, Barnes stays one of the celebrated figures in English and Caribbean soccer historical past.
