Former Premier League footballers have described being subjected to 'financial grooming' that led them to invest in failed schemes, resulting in huge tax bills and penalties from HM Revenue & Customs. The claims were made at the launch of the Investment Fraud Committee, an all-party parliamentary group in Westminster, where politicians and campaigners heard harrowing testimony from several victims.
Among those attending were former England internationals Andy Cole, Brian Deane, Michael Thomas and Danny Murphy. Murphy, now a prominent pundit for the BBC and TalkSport, revealed he lost £2.5m after investing in a film scheme that promised tax breaks. He also lost a court case in 2019 over a £1m loan from Coutts bank used for the investment.
Murphy said young footballers were easy targets for unscrupulous financial advisers who gained their trust by integrating into their lives. 'Our option for investment was these people. It's not footballers, it's young men being manipulated,' he said. 'People can't understand why you got into this position. It makes you feel silly – it adds to the shame. People have been through hell and back. Some are still there.'
Deane echoed the sentiment, saying some former players had been pushed to the brink of suicide. 'I watched it break friends' marriages. It affects your health and wellbeing,' he said. The campaigners argue that HMRC has unfairly targeted victims of fraud rather than the perpetrators, with Labour MP Alex Sobel describing the practice as 'financial grooming'.
Lord Mann, a former Labour MP, questioned why HMRC pursued 'notional income' – potential earnings had the investments succeeded – and alleged the department lacks the skills to address complex fraud. An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We sympathise with people who may have lost money by entering such arrangements and handle these on a case-by-case basis, taking the wellbeing of all taxpayers seriously.'
