HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has filed a bankruptcy petition against Jamie Carragher at the High Court, as the former Liverpool defender prepares for a battle with the taxman. The 48-year-old, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, was named in records filed on Wednesday.
Petition details and HMRC response
Carragher was identified by his full name, James Lee Duncan Carragher, as a "litigant in Person." The Mirror has reached out to Carragher for a response. Meanwhile, HMRC has confirmed that it cannot comment on individuals due to laws pertaining to taxpayer confidentiality.
A spokesperson for HMRC said: "We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and do everything we can to help those who engage with us to get out of debt, such as offering instalment plans. We only petition for bankruptcy as a last resort."
Career earnings and punditry work
Reports claim that Carragher has a net worth exceeding £16 million, and that he earned as high as £5 million annually at the peak of his playing days with Liverpool. It is also claimed that Carragher sees as much as £1 million yearly through his punditry for Sky Sports and CBS in the United States.
Elsewhere, the Liverpudlian also makes regular appearances on Stick To Football alongside fellow pundit, Gary Neville.
Past incident and Liverpool legacy
It comes as Carragher apologised in 2018 after he was filmed spitting at a 14-year-old girl and her father as he drove his Range Rover following Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Manchester United.
Speaking about that incident during a podcast appearance alongside Alistair Campbell, Carragher said: "We were devastated by it really. You go back and think the aftermath of it, you do interviews and apologising, and I had to come back to my family that day, sometimes you think back and think how did you get through it.
"I just snapped, can't explain why I did it. It will probably haunt me for the rest of my life. It's probably taken me six to 12 months to get over it in some ways. I got great support at the time, I was very lucky with that. As soon as I got home I told my wife, I knew straight away, I just thought, 'Oh my god.' My wife was unbelievable for me."
One of the club's longest-serving players, Carragher represented Liverpool between 1996 and 2013, racking up 737 appearances. In that time, he managed three League Cups, two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and the 2005 Champions League. Carragher also received 38 caps for the England national team, representing the Three Lions at Euro 2004, as well as the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
