AS MANY AS 100 former and current Premier League players, including Manchester United and England’s Andy Cole and Rio Ferdinand, and Ireland’s John O’Shea, face a collective loss of some £100 million ($150m, 140m euros) after investments in film schemes and property ventures turned sour, the Sunday Times reported.
Some of the players said they were victims of bad advice from David McKee and Kevin McMenamin of Kingsbridge Asset management, an investment company, and that they either lost major amounts money or were hit by huge tax demands from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) when the British tax authority challenged the legality of the film schemes.
Kevin Campbell, the former Arsenal and Everton striker, who invested in five film schemes and faces losses of up to £7 million, is now at the centre of bankruptcy proceedings.
Campbell alleges that he and other footballers have been the victims of “appalling mis-selling”.
“When I see the paperwork, it’s horrendous,” Campbell told the Sunday Times. “I am not one to be bitter, but £7 million is a lot of money.”
Danny Murphy, the former Liverpool midfielder turned BBC television pundit, said he did not feel embarrassed because he considered the investments were mis-sold.
“I feel angry,” he said.
Craig Short, the former Blackburn Rovers captain and current first-team coach, who has lost an estimated £2.6 million, added: “These investments were sold for my kids’ education, for my children’s future.
“I reckon over 100 retired players have been hit by this. They feel aggrieved, they feel duped, anger, humiliation, really. It’s wrong, totally wrong.”
However, a spokesman for McKee and McMenamin told the Sunday Times that the players were, “without exception”, always informed about the suitability and risks of the schemes and advised that the investments needed to be part of a balanced portfolio.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
