Football icon John Burns was declared bankrupt after his company accumulated £1.5 million in debt. The bankruptcy notice was issued following a petition filed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in early August. It was officially issued in the High Court on September 23rd. HMRC has revealed that his now liquidated company, John Burns Media Limited, has incurred more than £1.5 million in debt. According to liquidator reports, HMRC has a £776,878 deadline for unpaid VAT, national insurance and PAYE, with director loans of £461,849 and £226,000 to unsecured creditors.
The former Liverpool and the English winger, who won the 79 limit in the UK, have faced numerous bankruptcy petitions since 2010, including a £238,000 personal tax bill settled in 2023 in 11 hours. Barnes, a resident of Heswall, Wirral, was banned from becoming a three-and-a-half-year company director in 2023 after discovering that between 2018 and 2020 his company failed to pay more than £190,000 in corporate taxes and VAT despite sales of £441,798.
Service chief investigator Mike Smith said Burns’ failure to ensure taxes were paid “should serve as a deterrent to other directors.” The bankruptcy declaration states that, just a month after Burns spoke about his tax issues, “I’m paying what I owe.”
The footballer, who won £10,000 a week, has revealed that he has been paying HMRC for the past eight years due to big losses from wise investments.
To clarify what he claims to be a misleading report about his financial situation, he spoke to all of the business podcasts. Since 2017, Burns said it has repaid about £2.2 million and has continued to pay £10,000 a month under an arrangement agreed with tax authorities.
During the podcast, the English star confessed. “I made a lot of money. I’m a soccer player worth £10,000 a week and I’ve benefited from it for several years. Like many elite sportsmen, I was caught and burned several times. I’ve been injured.”
He explained that since then whenever he was offered a petition, he and his legal team went to court to make a payment arrangement because they didn’t want to be declared bankrupt.
Burns added:
“But whenever something new comes up, the story comes up in the press that I say negative things about not paying taxes.
“Soccer is a working class sport, I have all this money and I don’t want to work hard thinking I won’t pay taxes.
He revealed that damage reports about his financial situation had affected regular revenue streams and provided consultations on business inclusion and diversity. Burns explained that this has stopped certain companies, particularly banks and finance companies, from inviting him to speak.
He said he still generates income through his professional commitments and refused to let his battle with HMRC affect his outlook for life.
Burns added:
“And as long as I can work and pay, I’m just grateful. What should I complain about? But I’m reassuring people. And the reason I’m talking about this now is because the stories around me are so negative.
“I was very fortunate in my life to still be able to work and pay bills and have kids having a roof over their heads and tables.
“The only reason I’m doing this is because people say it’s not true, and I don’t want to think that former professional footballer John Burns would hide all his money and not pay taxes.”
Burns was contacted for comment.
