Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher is facing a bankruptcy petition over an unpaid tax bill believed to be between £700,000 and £800,000.
Documents seen by the BBC show that a case was filed against Carragher, whose full name is James Lee Duncan Carragher, on Wednesday. The bankruptcy petition was filed by lawyers representing HM Revenue and Customs, HMRC, and was first reported by City AM.
HMRC declined to comment specifically on Carragher’s case but said it takes a supportive approach when dealing with people who have outstanding tax debts.
The tax authority said it works with customers who engage with it to help them clear their debts, including through instalment payment arrangements. HMRC added that it only petitions for bankruptcy as a “last resort”.
A spokesperson for Jamie Carragher told BBC Sport that the matter was private and should have been resolved sooner.
The spokesperson said appropriate steps were being taken to settle the outstanding amount and indicated that the case was expected to be resolved imminently.
Carragher, 48, spent his entire senior playing career at Liverpool, making more than 700 appearances for the club between 1996 and 2013.
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Since retiring, he has established himself as a prominent football pundit, regularly appearing on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage, the Stick to Football show and CBS Sports’ Champions League programming.
Jamie Carragher is the latest former professional footballer to face financial difficulties involving tax liabilities. Former England internationals David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have previously been declared bankrupt.
Carragher’s former Liverpool team-mate Emile Heskey also lost a legal battle in 2024 involving an unpaid tax bill of £1.637 million.
In 2025, former England winger Trevor Sinclair was declared bankrupt after failing to pay a tax bill of more than £36,000. Shaun Wright-Phillips was also petitioned for bankruptcy by HMRC at London’s High Court that year.
The cases highlight wider concerns about financial difficulties experienced by some former professional footballers after their playing careers.
Last September, it was reported that as many as 200 footballers could have lost tens of millions of pounds, with some reportedly losing their homes or being declared bankrupt.
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy, who is now a Match of the Day pundit, has previously spoken about losing around £5 million as a result of what he described as “financial abuse”.
Carragher’s current case is expected to be resolved, according to his spokesperson. Until then, the bankruptcy petition remains a matter before the relevant legal process.
BBC
