Former England footballer Trevor Sinclair was declared bankrupt yesterday after failing to pay £36,424 in tax debt related to his pundit work.
The 52-year-old former QPR, West Ham and Manchester City winger did not attend Central London County Court for the hearing.
Judge Caroline Wilkinson said HMRC had received no contact from Sinclair and concluded that he is "unable to pay his debts as they fall due".
The debt relates to the 2021/22 tax year and includes two sums exceeding £13,000 for pundit work, plus National Insurance and penalty payments.
Former England star Trevor Sinclair, pictured third from the left on the bottom row, has been declared bankrupt
PA
Sinclair, who earned 12 England caps during his playing career, had been granted additional time in April to arrange payment or propose alternatives.
During yesterday's hearing, the HMRC barrister told the court: "The last hearing was adjourned in order for proposals to be put forward by Mr Sinclair, but we have received no contact from him since then and nor have any proposals been put forward."
JUST IN:Liverpool agree record-breaking fee for Florian Wirtz transfer from Bayer Leverkusen
Judge Wilkinson noted the case had been paused to allow Sinclair to consider alternatives such as an individual voluntary arrangement.
"Mr Sinclair is not in attendance today and no proposals have been put forward for paying his debt," she said.
"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."
The tax debt originated after Sinclair's accountant died, with his lawyer Robert Lee telling the court in April that the debt arose from Sinclair "being considered self-employed when he ought not to have been".
At that April hearing, HMRC barrister Shabab Rizvi stated: "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."
The case was adjourned after Lee informed the court that Sinclair was working in media and "currently in receipt of a job offer in Saudi Arabia".
Judge Wilkinson warned at the time: "Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there's no more head in the sand because this is serious".
Sinclair played four times for England at the 2002 World Cup and scored Match of the Day's goal of the season in 1997 for a spectacular bicycle kick for QPR against Barnsley.
READ MORE:Joey Barton 'declares war' on Gary Neville, insults his wife and threatens to 'empty' pundit
Trevor Sinclair took up punditry after his football career was over
PA
He retired in 2008 but his punditry career faced setbacks.
In 2018, he was convicted of drink driving and racially abusing a police officer after an incident in which he urinated in a police car following his arrest.
His broadcasting work further declined in 2022 when he questioned why "black and brown people" were mourning Queen Elizabeth after her death, leading talkSPORT to take him off air.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Most Read
