Why Former Manchester United Star Wes Brown Was Declared Bankrupt

Former Manchester United defender and Champions League winner Wes Brown was declared bankrupt in May 2023 and ended up renting a property from an Old Trafford star. Brown spent a total of 19 years at the Theatre of Dreams, making 262 appearances and winning 14 trophies during his time at the club.

At the peak of his career, Brown was believed to be earning around £50,000-a-week at United, hence why many observers were shocked to learn of his financial woes just five years after he retired from the game. Among the best right-backs in England during his peak years, Brown was capped 23 times by the Three Lions and famously set up Cristiano Ronaldo’s opening goal in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the petition to make the 44-year-old bankrupt came from two parties. One was HMRC – who Brown, 45, was said to owe a six-figure sum in unpaid taxes – while the other was a car finance company due only a few thousand pounds.

How Wes Brown Went Bankrupt

The former England international struggled with finances

A source close to Brown summed up his money problems when speaking to the Mail, telling the newspaper: “It may seem like Wes was earning big money – to most people he was – but the trouble was he was also trying to keep up with the lifestyle of teammates earning five or six times more than he was.”

Brown’s finances took a major hit in 2022 when he officially split from his wife of 12 years, Real Housewives of Cheshire star Leanne Wassell. Divorce proceedings were estimated to have cost Brown a significant sum, but his money worries appear to have begun because of a number of poor property investments.

“Most of his money disappeared in bad property deals,” revealed the source. “He overpaid on the farm that Leanne lives in. He spent something like £6 million or £7 million to buy that.

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Former Man United Teammates Step In

Rooney, Carrick & Rashford were on hand to help

Several of Brown’s former United colleagues rallied around him after learning of his bankruptcy, according to the same report. Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick offered their support, while Marcus Rashford went one step further in helping out as he is believed to be letting Brown stay in one of his lavish Manchester properties at what were described as ‘mates rates’.

In 2024, Brown spoke out about his financial troubles and claimed he had the wrong people around him when making his professional salary at Manchester United. He told the Ben Heath Podcast:

Brown added: “It was a little bit different. It wasn’t lots of people you go and speak to and you maybe meet people and do this do that. I wasn’t interested in any of that. You said yes and got on with it.

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“It’s a long story and I won’t go into the detail, but it’s stuff that happened a long time ago with certain investments and getting into stuff that as a young kid, a lot of people go into, [but] don’t really understand it. It’s what a lot of people are doing and then it came to a head last year, and that’s how it went.

Brown Opens Up About Work

‘Well, luckily, I still work, so that’s good’

Brown has endured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows – and a pivotal aspect of him getting back to his professional best has been to continue working throughout. Speaking to Express Sport, he said: “Well, luckily, I still work, so that’s good.

“But it’s all been sorted now in the sense that I know what I need to do and everybody is happy with everything,” the former defender said. “So I’m just getting on with it now and carrying on really.”

As he continues to get to grips with post-retirement life, one of his active roles includes educating current athletes on the importance of financial literacy and due diligence. It’s all in an attempt to issue guidance that was not available at the height of his fame, while he was on the books of the Old Trafford-based outfit.

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt