£50k-a-week ex-Man Utd star went bankrupt after losing millions in property deals

Wes Brown once sat among the Premier League's high earners raking in £50,000 a week at the height of his Manchester United career, but the ex-defender was recently declared bankrupt

09:10, 01 May 2023

Former Manchester United star Wes Brown was forced to declare bankruptcy after allegedly losing millions due to a string of poor property investments.

It was recently confirmed HMRC had filed a bankruptcy petition against Brown, which was approved by the High Court on April 12. But the factors behind Brown's road to financial ruin are only now coming to light.

The Daily Mail reported five-time Premier League champion Brown lost millions in property investments, while he also owed HMRC six figures. That's in addition to falling behind on car payments he couldn't fulfil.

It emerged in 2022 that Brown and his ex-partner, Real Housewives of Cheshire star Leanne, had separated the previous year and eventually split. Although Leanne still lives on one of the eye-wateringly expensive properties in Brown's portfolio, the pair have been desperate to sell and recoup some cash.

A source close to Brown, who earned £50k-a-week at Old Trafford at the height of his career, was quoted by the Mail saying: "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 team-mates earning five or six times more than he was.

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"Most of his money disappeared in bad property deals. He overpaid on the farm that Leanne lives in. He spent something like £6million or £7m to buy that. They have tried to sell it but haven’t managed to, even after lowering the price to £4.75m. Any money left is tied up in the farm."

For the time being, Brown is reportedly renting a 'modest property' from current Old Trafford icon Marcus Rashford. It's also understood fellow United alumni like Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick, now head coach at Middlesbrough, are helping to support their ex-colleague through tough times.

In addition to his five Premier League winners' medals, Brown was also crown a king of Europe on two occasions, also bagging two FA Cups and two League Cups. The Manchester native made his Premier League debut for United in 1998 and spent the next 13 years as part of Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad.

The 43-year-old played five seasons at Sunderland before capping his career with cameos for Blackburn Rovers and Kerala Blasters in India, announcing his retirement in 2018. The 23-cap former England international has since moved into punditry and holds a UEFA 'A' coaching licence, raising the possibility of a future move into management.

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