Jamie Carragher avoids bankruptcy after settling unpaid tax bill 'of up to £800,000' with HMRC

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher will not be made bankrupt after settling an unpaid tax bill with HMRC.

Judge Nicholas Briggs dismissed a bankruptcy petition against Carragher, 48, at the Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday.

The petition was issued in August but Kevin Hassan, for HMRC, told the hearing in London that the debt has been paid, with no figure given in court, although it was previously reported to be in the region of £700,000 to £800,000.

Carragher, 48, from Merseyside, spent his entire professional career with Liverpool and was part of the squad who won the Champions League in 2005.

Carragher is listed as a director at four firms and as a LLP Member for another. He is currently a pundit on the Premier League for Sky Sports and on the Champions League for US network CBS Sports.

He is also a regular on the Stick To Football podcast, run by Gary Neville's media business The Overlap. 

At the time of the petition being filed in the High Court in August, a spokesperson for HMRC told Daily Mail Sport: '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.' 

A spokesperson for Carragher added: 'This is a private tax matter that should have been resolved sooner, and the appropriate steps are being taken today to settle it.

'It is understood that the matter will not proceed any further and will be resolved imminently.'

Carragher made 737 appearances for Liverpool and played every second of their iconic Champions League final comeback against AC Milan. The former defender is regarded as a club legend. 

His annual salary with the Reds is believed to have peaked at around £5million-per-year.

Carragher also tallied 38 caps for England and went to the 2004 Euros, as well as the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

The Bootle-born personality is the founder of the 23 Foundation, an organisation aiming to help young people in Merseyside, and is a co-founder of Football For Change, which helps to tackle child poverty through education, sport and training.

He is married to his wife of 21 years, Nicola, and together they have two children: James, 23, who plays as a defender for League One club Wigan Athletic, and actress and model Mia, 22.

Jamie and Nicola got married in 2005 at a 17th-century stately home on the Staffordshire-Shropshire border after their initial dream venue, Allerton Castle in Yorkshire, was partially destroyed by a fire.

'We’ve been together for the best part of 30 years now and I’m really proud of that. It doesn’t always happen in football or if you’ve got a bit of a profile,' Carragher told The Times earlier this year.

'When I was a young lad I used to look at couples who had been together for years and think that would never be me. But here we are. Nicola is not just my wife, she’s also my best mate.

'I’ll admit I’ve been dead lucky; my professional life was full of amazing moments: playing for England, Liverpool’s 2001 treble, that amazing comeback in the 2005 Champions League final - from absolute despair to absolute joy, the stuff you dream of when you’re a kid.

'But it doesn’t matter what I’ve achieved or what you’re going to offer me, there is only one person I want by my side.'

Carragher also joined sixth-tier Merseyside club Marine in May to help out in an advisory capacity.

‘Marine is a proper community football club with good people involved and a clear vision for where it wants to go,’ said Carragher in a statement.

‘I’ve enjoyed watching the progress the club has made over recent years and I’m pleased to be able to support the club in an advisory capacity going forward.’

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