• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Ex-England and Man City midfielder Trevor Sinclair declared bankrupt after 'burying head in sand' over tax debt

Home> Football> Football News> Man City

Published 14:17 13 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Ex-England and Man City midfielder Trevor Sinclair declared bankrupt after 'burying head in sand' over tax debt

Sinclair, who made 12 appearances for England, did not turn up at court this week.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Trevor Sinclair has been declared bankrupt after he was accused by a judge of “burying his head in the sand” over a five-figure tax debt.

The 52-year-old former England midfielder, who is currently working alongside Steve McClaren as a coach for the Jamaica national team, was made bankrupt by HMRC on Thursday after failing to pay taxes and penalties totalling £36,424.

HMRC say the amount owed includes two sums of more than £13,000 for punditry work, plus outstanding National Insurance and penalty payments.

Back in April, a judge heard that Sinclair ended up owing the money following the death of his accountant.

Advert

The case was then adjourned after Sinclair’s lawyer, Robert Lee, told the court that the former footballer's debt arose because of an error that saw his client "being considered self-employed when he ought not to have been".

Lee also told the court Sinclair was working in the media and "currently in receipt of a job offer in Saudi Arabia".

Sinclair has worked as a pundit for BBC Sport. Image credit: Getty
Sinclair has worked as a pundit for BBC Sport. Image credit: Getty

Sinclair had been granted extra time to come up with the money or alternative proposals to pay, with Judge Caroline Wilkinson warning in April: “Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there’s no more head in the sand because this is serious”.

Advert

But he failed to attend court on Thursday [June 12] and was therefore declared bankrupt.

Wilkinson said HMRC had received no contact from the ex-England international. “Mr Sinclair is not in attendance today and no proposals have been put forward for paying his debt," the judge said.

"In the circumstances, the court finds that Mr Sinclair is unable to pay his debts as they fall due and it will make the bankruptcy order.”

Shabab Rizvi, the HMRC barrister, added: “The debtor is a former Premier League footballer and should have the means to satisfy the debt, but there’s been no contact with HMRC at all.”

Advert

Sinclair, who made 12 appearances for England between 2001 and 2003, played for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Manchester City during a 19-year professional career. He would make a total of 361 Premier League appearances before retiring.

Sinclair made 98 appearances for Man City across a four-year spell. Image credit: Getty
Sinclair made 98 appearances for Man City across a four-year spell. Image credit: Getty

Sinclair would go on to work as a pundit on both television and radio, most notably for the BBC and talkSPORT.

The former midfielder was suspended by talkSPORT in 2022 following his controversial tweet about Queen Elizabeth II after her death. He returned to the station four months later.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images

Topics: Premier League, Man City, England, West Ham, QPR

Jack Kenmare
Jack Kenmare

Jack is a Senior Journalist who enjoys a long read. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of Football Manager wonderkids from 2005 to the present day, and has interviewed a handful of FM's finest, including Freddy Adu, Supat Rungratsamee and Mika Aaritalo.

X

@jackkenmare_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Jack Grealish makes huge decision on his Man City future as bombshell report reveals favourites to sign him
  • Rodri has spoken to Real Madrid star about joining the club as Man City braced for massive bid
  • Man Utd 'interested' in signing Man City player this summer as midfielder is left out of Club World Cup squad
  • Ex-Man City star reveals details about how pro footballers are paid 'that most people wouldn't know'

Choose your content:

19 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • 19 mins ago

    Diogo Dalot admits two Man Utd players gave the club 'headaches' last season and it won't be repeated

    The Manchester United full-back discussed two of his teammates in an interview during pre-season.

    Football
  • an hour ago

    Lamine Yamal spotted copying Marcus Rashford in Barcelona training as 'secret' texts between pair leaked

    Rashford and Yamal were in contact before the England striker signed for the Spanish champions

    Football
  • an hour ago

    Michael Owen claims Viktor Gyokeres has already made major mistake at Arsenal before even making his debut

    The Ballon d'Or winner was critical of one decision from Viktor Gyokeres following confirmation of his move to Arsenal.

    Football
  • 2 hours ago

    Ruben Amorim 'tells' Man Utd which striker he wants to sign and it's not Benjamin Sesko

    Manchester United striker saga rumbles on and head coach Amorim has made his demand

    Football