Former footballers lost millions in investments

Danny Murphy, Brian Deane and Craig Short are three of a group of retired footballers who say they are victims of "financial abuse"

A group of former Premier League footballers say they lost tens of millions of pounds because of their financial advisers.

Danny Murphy, Michael Thomas and Rod Wallace are part of the V11 campaign group, which comprises 11 footballers who invested with Kingsbridge Asset Management in the 1990s and 2000s.

Former England midfielder Murphy - now a Match of the Day pundit - believes he lost roughly £5m because of "financial abuse".

David McKee and Kevin McMenamin, who ran Kingsbridge, say they "deny any wrongdoing".

They told the BBC: "At all times, Kingsbridge advised in good faith and set out the risks and opportunities both before and after any investment was agreed."

Up to 200 footballers may have been affected, with some losing their homes and being made bankrupt.

They are now being chased for millions more in tax, despite being told by City of London Police they were "victims of crime".

Football's Financial Shame: The Story of the V11 shows how coming together as a team helped the group survive and gave them the conviction to go public. It will air on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, 2 September from 21:00 BST.

'It was like wildfire - word of mouth'

This goal from Brian Deane for Sheffield United against Manchester United was the first scored in the Premier League

Brian Deane is another member of the V11 group.

He scored the first Premier League goal in 1992. It ushered in a new era, with money flooding into the game and players becoming richer than ever.

"We should have felt protected," said Deane, who - like others - hoped the investments would secure his financial future.

"Kingsbridge seemed to be in line with what everybody wanted at the time, which was to have somebody looking after your finances for when you finished playing."

Kingsbridge Asset Management was founded in Nottingham by McKee and McMenamin in the same year as the Premier League.

Its website boasted a client list of more than 360 footballers.

"If they got the most influential person in the changing room, you thought you were in a safe place," said Deane.

"It was like wildfire - word of mouth."

'These guys have ruined our lives'

Tommy Johnson (left) invited David McKee (middle) and Kevin McMenamin (right) to the 1996 League Cup final

Former Aston Villa and Celtic striker Tommy Johnson was introduced to Kingsbridge by his agent.

"They were my financial advisers and a lot of the players' advisers at Villa," he said.

Johnson went on holiday with McKee and McMenamin, and they were even guests at his wedding.

"People will turn around and say they were just financial advisers," he said. "They weren't, they were friends. These guys have ruined our lives."

McKee and McMenamin told the BBC: "We were honoured during our careers to have been trusted by [our] clients... that trust was never betrayed."

The company gained credibility through its relationship with the League Managers Association.

Kingsbridge administered the LMA's website and obtained an endorsement from then chairman Howard Wilkinson, who managed Leeds United and England.

Howard Wilkinson was chairman of the League Managers Association for 32 years before standing down in 2024

Howard Wilkinson (left) and Rod Wallace (right) won the First Division title with Leeds in 1992

Wallace became Leeds' record signing in the summer of 1991.

"It was one of the major advantages for us - to know that managers were involved," he said.

"Me and my wife were looking to have a family. It was just a natural thing really, just go with them."

It was only in 2008 that Wallace noticed something going wrong with his investments. His net worth at one point was £1.9m. By February 2024, he was declared bankrupt.

"We live in Surrey," he said. "It's been a good place to live but we have to move on now because of an eviction notice, nothing in the bank. We won't have anywhere to live."

Wallace was also a shareholder in Kingsbridge.

"It was my first purchase of shares," he said. "I was just told that they bombed. Just gone."

Wilkinson owned shares too.

Yet a letter seen by the BBC suggests he was paid £2,033 a month for four years by Kingsbridge, in "recognition of the fact" he kept his shares "solely [in] the best interest of the LMA's business partnership with Kingsbridge", even as they lost value.

The LMA said: "Any arrangement between David McKee and Howard Wilkinson... was a personal arrangement... to which the LMA was not a party."

McKee and McMenamin said: "Howard Wilkinson never introduced a client or referred any business to us."

Wilkinson was approached for comment but did not provide a statement.

Where did the investments go?

In 1997, the Treasury introduced tax relief on investments in domestic films to try to boost the UK film industry.

"What the government didn't envisage was the tax advantages would be abused and turned into a financial product," said investment fraud lawyer Ben Rees.

Kingsbridge advised clients to invest in film financing schemes, both with their own money and with bank loans.

Wallace put more than £2m into the sector.

Players were then encouraged to invest in property with a 40% tax rebate, that did not need to be repaid for 15 years.

Four of the V11 group bought apartments for 618,500 euros in a development in Spain called Monte Resina.

"They brought it to me and the other lads like it was a very exclusive development that was just too good to miss," said Deane.

However, documents seen by the BBC show McKee and McMenamin originally owned the apartments and instructed a company - run by McKee's wife - to manage them.

"Talk about conflict of interest," said investigative journalist Richard Belfield.

"McKee and McMenamin set the apartment prices and then advised their clients to buy them. These prices were over-inflated, as an independent valuation later showed."

Clients were told property investments in Charlotte Harbor could achieve a return of 15-20% a year

Former Derby County and Everton defender Craig Short was advised to invest in another development - in Florida, called Charlotte Harbor.

"The first [property] had no value whatsoever," he said.

"I had a huge mortgage on it which I just couldn't afford. The easiest thing for me to do was walk away, give the keys back."

When HMRC eventually chased the tax owed from the film schemes, many of the investments had diminished, leaving players unable to cover the tax bills.

Rees was introduced to the V11 group through a charity.

"I think every professional adviser makes mistakes, but the volume of and the consistency of these complex, high-risk, unregulated investments were just totally unsuitable for young, naive, kind of financially inexperienced footballers," said Rees.

"Then when you start seeing the investments where the advisory firm themselves have got an interest in the projects or they're involved somehow, that's not a mistake."

McKee and McMenamin said in their statement to the BBC: "Film schemes attracted huge support from all areas of the financial services industry.

"Any losses suffered by clients... are deeply regrettable but were as a consequence of changes in HMRC policy and the worldwide property market collapse in 2008.

"Kingsbridge had well over 2,000 clients, many of whom received very similar advice. The huge majority of these clients remain satisfied with the way that Kingsbridge handled their affairs."

Have the police done anything?

City of London Police opened an investigation in 2018, after the issue was referred to them by Andy Burnham - now Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Two men from the East Midlands were arrested.

But, two years later, the investigation was closed, with the force concluding there was "insufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of conviction".

City of London Police said: "The decision... was made at commander level and... was also endorsed in a strategic investigation review by a senior officer from an external force."

No charges have ever been brought against Kingsbridge staff, including McKee and McMenamin, and they deny any wrongdoing.

Bailiffs visited Craig Short at Oxford United's training ground where he is first-team assistant head coach

'HMRC will probably enforce, I have nothing to give'

The average tax bill for each member of the V11 group is more than £1m.

Former Fulham midfielder Sean Davis owes £330,000 and now works as a painter and decorator.

"I started getting the brown letters through the door, and it was a big shock," he said.

"The sad thing is, I'm at my happiest when I've had a drink because you kind of forget about it. But then when I wake up the next day that's when I'm at my worst. I literally want to kill myself."

Thomas, meanwhile, said he was "living like a clown".

"All fun on the outside - laughing and joking - but every day I think about a lot of things... and I'm one of the lucky ones," said the former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder.

"It's tough even just to speak out, but I thought, 'I have to speak out for people who are suffering in silence'."

When the brown envelopes arrived at Short's door, his tax liability was shown to be £1.6m.

He received a bankruptcy petition on Christmas Eve, and bailiffs turned up at the training ground of Oxford United, where he works as a coach.

"I fluctuate from deep bouts of depression, sadness and anger," he said. "HMRC will probably enforce, I have nothing to give them."

In a statement, HMRC said: "We have a duty to collect tax when it is legally due.

"We recognise that dealing with an enquiry and a large tax liability can be stressful and we are absolutely committed to identifying and supporting customers who need extra help."

The V11 group are campaigning for a change in the law to protect victims of crime from serious tax charges

'If it wasn't for the group, I don't know where I'd be'

The V11 campaign group was assembled by Short's wife Carly Barnes-Short - a solicitor and former criminal defence lawyer.

"We have team captains, Premier League title holders, Champions League winners, FA Cup winners," she said. "This is a group of extraordinarily successful players."

Her aim, together with the 11 retired footballers - not all of whom wanted to go on the record about their experiences - is to change the law to protect victims of crime from serious tax charges.

"It comes back to what we did as players," said Deane. "It was a team, and that's where we've gained the strength from."

"It's definitely saved lives," said Murphy, who won the Uefa Cup, FA Cup and EFL Cup with Liverpool.

"If it wasn't for the group, I don't know where I'd be now."

Before joining the group, Davis was one of the many former footballers who kept his financial troubles private.

The possibility of changing the law encouraged him to speak about them publicly for the first time.

"I don't want to be saying all this and then there's no change," Davis said.

"That would be even worse - that would be like losing again."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Action Line website here.