Emile Heskey ‘is facing bankruptcy, with HMRC filing a petition in the High Court’ against the former Liverpool and England star
- Emile Heskey played for Leicester and Liverpool in his career
- However, the former England striker, now 45, is in danger of going bankrupt
- How much humble pie can Jordan Henderson eat? It all starts
Former Liverpool, Leicester City and Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey is in danger of going bankrupt.
The 45-year-old – who also won 62 caps for England – had a net worth estimated at £12million in 2009.
However, according to The sunhas faced financial problems since joining a celebrity investment scheme that is now at the center of a £1.6 billion tax dispute.
The report claims that this led to HMRC filing a bankruptcy application against Heskey in the High Court.
It comes after several financial problems have been reported regarding the former striker in recent years.
Former Liverpool, Leicester and England striker Emile Heskey is in danger of going bankrupt
Heskey had a net worth of £12 million during his playing days and won 62 caps for England
For example, in 2023 he was found to have defaulted on £92,000 of tax on his work as a football development officer between 2017 and 2020, with Heskey fined £42,000.
Similarly, a Cheshire bar he ran with his wife Chantelle Tagoe – with whom he has three children – was liquidated by the courts in May this year with a reported £163,000 in debts.
Documents filed at Companies House revealed that a liquidation order spelled the end for the venue, called Parea, which opened in 2018.
It was closed after a local catering company applied to have the business wound up due to unpaid debts. Parea was a regular haunt of footballers and TV stars, including Real Housewives of Cheshire regulars.
The report did not indicate whether the liquidation order was a result of Heskey’s bankruptcy or the aforementioned investment plan.
The celebrity investment program was reportedly managed by Ingenious Media, a financing company that has backed more than 60 films.
The scheme was said to include investors such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Jeremy Paxman, Robbie Williams and Heskey and required a minimum stake of £50,000. It has faced significant controversy in recent years.
Heskey (pictured with wife Chantelle Tagoe) has faced many financial problems in recent years
Heskey recently worked as head of football development at Leicester Women
Gerrard and famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber were among those who launched legal proceedings against HSBC in 2018 for allegedly ‘dishonestly assisting’ Ingenious Media.
They claimed that Ingenious’ promotional materials “represented facts that were false and which they had no reasonable grounds to believe to be true.”
Heskey, who also has three children with his ex-wife Kylee Pinsent, retired in 2016 after a two-year spell at Bolton Wanderers.
In recent years he has worked as head of football development at Leicester City’s women’s team, while earlier this year he also linked up with England Under 18s.