FORMER England star Trevor Sinclair has been declared bankrupt after “burying his head in the sand” over a £36,000 tax debt.
The footballer made a fortune during his career with QPR, West Ham and Man City before becoming a pundit after he retired.
But he failed to pay taxes and penalties totalling £36,424 in relation to his TV and radio career between 2021 and 2022.
As a result, Sinclair was told to come up with the cash or find an alternative way to pay.
The ex-Premier League star failed to turn up to court though and has now been made bankrupt in his absence.
Judge Caroline Wilkinson said HMRC had received no contact from the former star and concluded that he is “unable to pay his debts”.
The case previously reached Central London County Court in April when the judge heard that Sinclair ended up owing a sizeable chunk of cash to the taxman after his accountant died.
His bill included more than £13,000 for work as a pundit, plus outstanding National Insurance and penalty payments.
HMRC barrister Shabab Rizvi saying: “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.”
However, the case was adjourned to give him more time to pay after his lawyer Robert Lee told the court Sinclair was working in the media and “currently in receipt of a job offer in Saudi Arabia.”
He said the debt arose from Sinclair “being considered self-employed when he ought not to have been.”
Judge Wilkinson granted the adjournment on the basis Sinclair face up to his impending bankruptcy.
He said: “Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there’s no more head in the sand because this is serious”.
The case returned to court yesterday, where the judge was told Sinclair had failed to materialise.
Granting the bankruptcy order, Judge Wilkinson said the case had been paused for Sinclair to consider pursuing an alternative to bankruptcy such as an “individual voluntary arrangement”.
She continued: “Mr Sinclair is not in attendance today and no proposals have been put forward for paying his debt.
“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.”
Sinclair received 12 caps for England during his career – including four during the 2002 World Cup.
His famous bicycle kick goal for QPR against Barnsley won him Match of the Day goal of the season in 1997.
Sinclair hung up his boots in 2008 but he returned to screens as a pundit for TV and radio.
However, this came to an end in 2022 when he questioned why “black and brown people” were mourning the Queen.
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