Football legend Trevor Sinclair could be made bankrupt over a £36,000 tax debt.
The former England star, 52, is facing a court bid after HMRC demanded he settles an unpaid tax bill from 2021-22.
The judge damningly said ‘Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there’s no more head in the sand because this is serious’.
Mr Sinclair, who used to play for Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers, earned his fortune both from playing on the field as well as commentating on the side.
But his career as a TV and radio pundit stalled when he questioned why ‘black and brown people’ were mourning the Queen in 2022 – which led to him leaving talkSPORT.
This was his second blow after he was axed by the BBC in 2018 after he injured a woman while driving drunk.
The Sun reported HMRC’s lawyer Shabab Rizvi told Judge Caroline Wilkinson ‘since the breathing space order ended, we have had no contact from the debtor’.
They added that the former Premier League footballer ‘should have the means to satisfy the debt, but there’s been no contact with HMRC at all’.
Trevor Sinclair, 52, could be made bankrupt over a £36,000 tax debt from 2021-22 (pictured in 2017 with his wife Natalie)
The judge damningly said ‘Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there’s no more head in the sand because this is serious’
The ex-winger won 12 caps for England – including four in the 2002 World Cup – as well as Match of the Day’s ‘Goal of the Season’ in 1997
Once he retired from the field, Mr Sinclair went into punditry but faced setbacks after his drink driving case in 2017 and his controversial tweet in 2022
The taxman wanted a bankruptcy order but Mr Sinclair’s lawyer Robert Lee asked the court to give the pundit another shot at paying off his debt.
He explained that he is working in the media and is ‘currently in receipt of a job offer in Saudi Arabia’.
Mr Sinclair was also said that the cause of his mounting financial troubles was the death of his accountant.
The court was adjourned for two months to let the ex-winger gather his affairs and pay off the two ‘large sums of £13,000-odd’ each of tax debt as well as outstanding National Insurance and penalties.
Mr Sinclair is currently an assistant coach for the Indian national team.
