A key member of Manchester United’s Champions League-winning team of 2008 filed for bankruptcy after retirement
Tom Sunderland Sports Writer
10:00, 03 Jan 2026Updated 00:07, 04 Jan 2026
Manchester United icon Wes Brown went from assisting Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2008 Champions League final to declaring bankruptcy(Image: John Peters, Manchester United via Getty Images)
One would think anyone boasting five Premier League titles and a pair of Champions League winners’ medals would be financially secure for life. Yet former Manchester United star Wes Brown discovered just how rapidly fortunes can change.
Football supporters were stunned when the 23-cap former England international declared bankruptcy in 2023. Brown was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most iconic era and the historic treble-winning side of 1999, even providing an assist to Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2008 Champions League final victory against Chelsea.
Yet a series of poor investments coupled with insufficient guidance on managing his wealth sent Brown spiralling into financial difficulty. Despite pocketing as much as £50,000 per week during his playing days, he found himself desperately trying to raise cash after hanging up his boots.
The 46-year-old is now in a far better position and has navigated through the worst of his money troubles. Brown has been refreshingly honest about his experience and how his broadcasting work alongside various other ventures enabled him to overcome what he called “a tough ride.”
“Well luckily I still work, so that’s good,” he told William Hill in November 2024. “But it’s all been sorted now in the sense that I know what I need to do and everybody is happy with everything. So I’m just getting on with it now and carrying on really.
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“It was a tough ride, it’s something that is hard to deal with on your own at times. But luckily I still do quite a lot of work and I’m able to carry on now moving forward. Today I’m one more day out of it.”
Brown kept quiet about his bankruptcy petition from HMRC for 12 months after it became public knowledge. However, he eventually reached a place where he was able to open up about the difficult period.
In total, the retired defender bagged 11 major trophies during his 15-year stint as part of United’s first team. Brown first joined the club’s academy at age 12 and later became one of only two players to have won the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year award on two occasions (Ryan Giggs being the other).
The 46-year-old declared bankruptcy in April 2023
Brown has since focused on educating athletes on financial literacy and due diligence, something he has suggested was lacking at the peak of his own football fame.
“For me it was more of a case of not knowing who I could speak to about stuff,” he continued. “Sometimes it’s just a feeling of, ‘I’m not sure that was the right thing to do.’ But then you leave it, you sort of forget about yourself, and then something pops up about it.
Brown featured in arguably some of the best Man United teams ever formed(Image: Bongarts/Getty Images)
“But I always feel if I could have the time again I would have more people in the room, and would have taken advice from people. But that wasn’t available at the time. If anything, with that you get the pros and cons, and I feel that’s much easier doing when you’ve got people you trust in the room.”
Brown is not the only athlete to face financial difficulties post-playing career. Liverpool legend John Barnes has encountered numerous bankruptcy petitions over the years, with the most recent one surfacing last year due to unpaid debts amounting to £1.5million.
Ex-Manchester City star Trevor Sinclair was also declared bankrupt in June 2025 after failing to settle a tax bill exceeding £36,000.
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