Liverpool legend John Barnes breaks silence on tax nightmare after owing millions

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Liverpool icon John Barnes has candidly discussed his tax woes, stating: "I'm paying what I owe." The former England and Watford winger revealed he has been settling his dues with HMRC for the past eight years following substantial losses from ill-advised investments.

He decided to set the record straight about what he describes as misleading reports concerning his financial situation during an interview on the All Things Business podcast.

Since 2017, Kop legend Barnes has repaid approximately $3 million and continues to make monthly payments of $13,500 under agreements established with the tax authority.

In April of the previous year, the Insolvency Service prohibited Barnes, now 60, from serving as a company director after his business failed to pay $257,000 in taxes.

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I don't have any assets.

"But every time something new comes up, stories appear in the press saying negative things about how I am not paying my taxes, even though I'm going to court, not to be made bankrupt, but to ask for permission to keep paying.

"This is a working-class sport, and I don't want hard working people thinking I've got all this money and I won't pay tax.

John Barnes during his England pomp in 1989

I have been so fortunate in my life to still be able to work and pay my bills and my kids have a roof over their head and food on the table.

"The only reason I'm doing this is because people have been saying things that are not true, and I don't want anyone thinking of me as John Barnes, ex-professional footballer, hiding all his money and not paying taxes."

Barnes was prohibited from serving as a company director for three-and-a-half years after his business failed to pay $257,000 in taxes, the Insolvency Service announced.

He was the sole listed director of 'media representation' company John Barnes Media Ltd, which entered liquidation in 2023.

The Insolvency Service launched an investigation into the firm and discovered that between November 2018 and October 2020 it had paid no tax whatsoever despite generating a turnover of around $600,000.

Barnes agreed to a disqualification undertaking which prohibits him from serving as a director