Former Liverpool defender, 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 revealed that a case was filed on Wednesday against James Lee Duncan Carragher, the former England international’s full name.
The petition was brought by lawyers acting for HM Revenue and Customs, with the matter initially reported by City AM.
An HMRC spokesperson told BBC Sport that the agency does not comment on individual cases but said it supports customers with tax debts and works with them to resolve outstanding payments.
“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 spent his entire professional playing career at Liverpool, making his first-team debut in 1996 before retiring in 2013.
He has since established himself as a prominent football analyst, featuring regularly on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage, the Stick to Football show and CBS Sports’ Champions League programming.
A spokesperson for Carragher said the issue was a private tax matter and that efforts were already underway to settle the debt.
“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 among several former English footballers to have encountered financial problems linked to tax liabilities following their playing careers.
Former England internationals David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have previously been declared bankrupt. Carragher’s former Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey also lost a legal dispute in 2024 over an unpaid tax bill of £1.637m.
Former England international Trevor Sinclair was declared bankrupt in 2025 after failing to settle a tax bill exceeding £36,000, while fellow former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips was petitioned for bankruptcy by HMRC at the High Court in London that same year.
Last September, reports indicated that as many as 200 footballers could have suffered losses running into 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 also revealed that he lost around £5m in what he described as “financial abuse.”
