Disgraced footballer Adam Johnson has suffered another financial setback as he has been forced to downsize his living arrangements. The 38-year-old remains out of the sport after being sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy and child grooming.
The former Manchester City, Sunderland and Middlesbrough player was found guilty of a further charge of sexual activity with a child and acquitted of a second charge of the same offence. He completed half of his custodial sentence before being released on license in March 2019. Johnson, who earned around £60,000 a week at the peak of his footballing career, previously lived in a luxury £1.75 million mansion in County Durham, which he vacated after a dispute with HMRC.
After a long legal battle, he agreed to pay around £524,000 to the tax authority. The property in question is currently owned by England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes.
Johnson, who has reunited with his long-term partner and mother of his two children Stacey Flounders, and his family now live in a more modest four-bedroom property they bought for £470,000. The property, also in County Durham, has views of the golf course of which Mr Johnson is reportedly a member.
A source told the Daily Mail: “Most people would consider him lucky to live on the Wynyard Estate, but their home is in much worse conditions than what he was used to.”
But the couple suffered another financial blow when Flanders’ events company went into liquidation. All About Me Events Ltd voluntarily closed down on September 30th after five years of operation.
Despite trying to convince various clubs to sign him, Johnson was unable to revive his career. Now in his late 30s, his playing days appear effectively over, as the then PFA chief Gordon Taylor predicted following his conviction.
Taylor told the BBC at the time: “I feel that the prospect is very remote, if at all, to say the least. It’s not unexpected.”
“The judge said this was a very serious matter and he would be out of court for a significant period of time. Six years is not unexpected. Our views on this matter are very pro-victim.”
