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

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.

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 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”.

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.”

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 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.