Former Reggae Boyz coach and England football legend John Barnes has been declared bankrupt at the age of 61, following financial troubles tied to his now-liquidated company, John Barnes Media Limited.
A bankruptcy notice was published in the London Gazette after a petition was filed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in August. According to the most recent liquidators’ report, Barnes owed HMRC more than £776,000 in unpaid taxes, in addition to over £461,000 to unsecured creditors, a director’s loan of £226,000, and liquidators’ costs of just over £56,000. The company’s debts totaled around £1.5 million.
Barnes had spent the last eight years repaying HMRC, but it emerged last month that he faced a renewed bankruptcy threat. Speaking on the All Things Business podcast, the former midfielder revealed that part of his financial difficulties stemmed from investing in a Ponzi scheme in Jamaica.
The Kingston-born football icon enjoyed a glittering career before his off-field struggles. Raised in Jamaica by a Trinidadian father and Jamaican mother, Barnes moved to London at age 12 and joined Watford at 17. He went on to play 296 games and score 85 goals for the club before transferring to Liverpool in 1987 for £900,000. Over the next decade, he became a star at Anfield, winning two First Division titles and two FA Cups, scoring 106 goals in 403 appearances. He also earned 79 caps for England, becoming the country’s most-capped Black player at the time of his retirement from international football in 1995.
Barnes later played for Newcastle United and Charlton Athletic before retiring in 1999. He transitioned into management, taking charge of Celtic, Tranmere Rovers, and the Jamaica national team, where he guided the Reggae Boyz to victory in the 2008 Caribbean Championship and qualification for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has also worked as a football pundit and published a book in 2021.
Despite his financial setbacks, Barnes remains one of the most celebrated figures in English and Caribbean football history.
