Former Liverpool Hero Gary McAllister Faces Bankruptcy Over Tax Debt

Football legend Gary McAllister is facing possible bankruptcy after HM Revenue and Customs took him to court over an unpaid tax bill.

The 61-year-old, who starred for both Leeds United and Liverpool during his playing days, has been served with a bankruptcy petition, though the exact amount he owes hasn't been made public yet.

According to the Telegraph, McAllister is one of a number of well-known former footballers who put money into film investment schemes years ago. Those schemes were later ruled by HMRC to be tax avoidance arrangements. They worked by offering investors big tax breaks in exchange for relatively small investments propped up by large loans.

McAllister has not been accused of trying to dodge his taxes on purpose. People close to him say he believed his tax adviser was already sorting things out with HMRC, and that he now wants to get the matter resolved as quickly as possible.

This is part of a wider effort by HMRC, which has spent years chasing former footballers and celebrities who took part in the same type of scheme.

A spokesperson for the tax authority told the Telegraph: "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."

McAllister is remembered as one of Scotland's best ever midfielders. He helped Leeds win the old First Division title in 1991-92, the last time the competition was played before it became the Premier League. He later spent four years at Coventry City before joining Liverpool in 2000, where he picked up the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup during a two-year stay at Anfield. He finished his career back at Coventry as player-manager in 2002, having made over 150 appearances for the club across two spells.

Internationally, McAllister won 57 caps for Scotland and captained the side for four years. He's also remembered for missing a penalty against England during Scotland's 2-0 loss at Euro 96.

He's not the only former player caught up in this kind of case. Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this month that HMRC had filed a similar petition against ex-Liverpool star Jamie Carragher, said to owe somewhere between £700,000 and £800,000.

Last year, former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan and ex-Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips were both reported to be facing bankruptcy petitions of their own.

Since 2010, several other former Premier League players, including David James, Wes Brown, Lee Hendrie, Trevor Sinclair and John Barnes, have already been declared bankrupt by HMRC.