Former Liverpool star admits ‘haemorrhaging’ bankruptcy with nearly £1.4 million owed to HMRC

Former Liverpool star and current Burnley assistant manager Craig Bellamy has declared bankruptcy after a series of failed investments.

The Welshman played for Liverpool 79 times across two turbulent one-year stays at Anfield.

Bellamy first joined Liverpool in June 2006 when the Merseyside club paid £6 million for his services from West Ham. During the 12-month spell that followed Bellamy's performances were overshadowed by a court case for assault (which he was cleared of) and high-profile clashes with teammates including hitting John Arne Riise with a golf club.

After that time the forward moved on to West Ham before eventually returning to Anfield to work under Kenny Dalglish in 2011 in a more successful spell that also ended after 12 months as Bellamy opted to return closer to home at Cardiff City.

Now 43 years old, Bellamy had admitted bankruptcy as a result of failed investments with nearly £1.4 million owed to HMRC.

In an emotional interview with The Daily Mail, he said: "Everything I have had has been taken from me. If you get the wrong people advising you it all haemorrhages, it all dwindles.

"It has got to the point where bankruptcy is a relief. It means I can just live again.

"I know some people will probably think I have squandered all my money on drinking or gambling or drugs. I haven't.

"I can go quiet where you won't hear from me but I won't be down the pub. I have never touched drugs since I was a young kid. I don't gamble - I have never gambled.

"It doesn't make any sense to me. But I have gambled on people, unfortunately."

The news comes after Bellamy opened up about a depression diagnosis in 2020 when vacating his post as assistant manager at Anderlecht in Belgium in September 2021.

The Welshman said that he had been diagnosed three years earlier and had been taking medication. He added that injuries had made his condition worse.

When announcing his bankruptcy, Bellamy also sent a warning message to young players.

He said: "Check everything, make sure the people advising you are regulated.

"If they are not regulated, it's the wild west. Get your stuff audited by independent people, the equivalent of getting a second opinion.

"I was brought up in a generation of footballers where everything was done for you. Every bill. Wherever I was, the club did everything for me. I think that's wrong.

"It makes you too vulnerable. It's good for players to have their own responsibilities because one day the club will not be there.

"You will finish your career and you will still be a young man, and when you finish who's going to pay your stuff then? You are going to have to learn to survive. You are going to have live in the real world."

If you have been affected by anything in this article a list of helplines is available through mental health charity Mind.