Former Manchester United player Wes Brown has reportedly been declared bankrupt after HMRC filed a bankruptcy petition against him in February, which was signed off at the High Court on April 12.

The news of the bankruptcy broke out, coming as a shock with Brown having once earned up to £50,000 per week during his time at Old Trafford.

Brown spent a total of 15 years at Manchester United after progressing through the youth ranks. He later had spells at Sunderland and Blackburn before retiring at Kerala Blasters. Brown also won 23 caps for England between 1999 and 2010.

In 2019, Brown split from his wife Leanne, who was previously on the reality show Real Housewives of Cheshire. The couple had been married for 20 years and now share custody of their three children. Leanne had previously discussed their financial situation, saying, “Although the fans can be amazing they can also be very cruel. It must be hard [for footballers] to deal with to be on top one minute and hated the next for a bad kick or missing the goal. We are the ones that are left to pick up the pieces and bear the brunt of whatever is left at the end of their careers.”

Brown, now 43, had once put his property in Prestbury, Cheshire up for sale at £4.5 million. However, it is unclear how his financial troubles have come about.

Despite his bankruptcy, Brown is set to participate in a charity football match next month to raise funds for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing. The match will feature a legends team containing Brown and his former Manchester United teammate Nicky Butt, as well as Trevor Sinclair, taking on a celebrity team which includes comedian Jason Manford.

Wes Brown Rise to Stardom

Wes Brown was not your typical flashy footballer with a big ego – even after rubbing shoulders with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.

The former England defender came from humble origins and highlighted that during a recent interview when talking about his commute to training as a youngster.

‘I had to get two buses, wait for one of the lads to pick me up in the car as I was walking down,’ he told the Fore Four 2 channel. He revealed that his choice of commute was ‘normal’ to him – and that he had to explain to boss Sir Alex Ferguson that he couldn’t afford a car or a taxi to get him to their facility.

‘I had a fight on the bus – that’s how [Sir Alex] found out,’ he added. ‘He said to me “what you doing getting the bus?”. I said “I’ve always got the bus”, and from that day it changed, I moved closer. He kept telling me to get a taxi and I said I can’t afford it.

‘At the time it was no different to me because it was what I was used to. People knew who I was because I had made my debut but the bus was the bus, it was normal.’

Advertisement