Former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan is facing a bankruptcy petition after a decade of costly legal battles stemming from a failed property venture with his brother.
The 47-year-old Irishman, who lifted both the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool in the 2000s, is now embroiled in insolvency proceedings at Central London County Court after failing to pay a five-figure legal costs order.
How it all started
After retiring from football in 2010, Finnan put significant money into a south-west London property business he co-owned with his brother Sean. The portfolio included a substantial house on The Green beside Wimbledon Common, properties in nearby Ridgeway Place, and several other flats.
By 2016, Finnan had grown concerned that, despite large sums he had loaned to the companies, there appeared to be no money left. He alleged that Sean had used company funds personally, spent excessively on legal disputes, and risked defaulting on loans.
Finnan instructed law firm Charles Russell Speechlys and issued “unfair prejudice” petitions against his brother, accusing him of mismanaging the business.
£4m settlement… that never arrived
In 2018, the brothers struck a settlement at the High Court. Sean agreed to pay Finnan £4 million and transfer his shares in the company owning the Wimbledon Common property.
The payment never materialised.
In 2019, Finnan had Sean declared bankrupt. His own recovery from the collapsed venture was limited: around £187,500 from the sale of the company that owned The Green and a further £89,000 or so from another property sale – a fraction of what he claimed to have invested.
The £6m negligence claim that failed
Finnan then turned his fire on his former solicitors, suing Charles Russell Speechlys for around £6 million. He argued he should have been advised to seek repayment of directors’ loans he had made to the companies, rather than pursuing the unfair prejudice route.
He claimed losses including:
- About £3.3m in loans to the companies
- Roughly £2.6m in the value of his shares
- Around £400,000 in legal fees
- Other associated losses bringing the total above £6m
The firm denied negligence, insisting Finnan was determined to press ahead with proceedings against his brother and that the companies simply had no money to repay him, whatever strategy was taken.
Master McQuail ultimately ruled in favour of the solicitors, finding that Finnan’s case disclosed no reasonable grounds. She noted that demands for repayment of the loans had been made and that neither Sean nor the companies ever responded with payment. There was, she said, no realistic scenario in which he could have ended up in a significantly better position.
Bankruptcy threat and “hopeless” appeal
As a result of that failed negligence claim, Finnan was hit with a costs order running into five figures. Having not paid, he now faces a bankruptcy petition.
At a High Court hearing on Monday, Finnan – representing himself – tried to appeal earlier orders in the bankruptcy proceedings. He argued the case was too “complex” for the County Court, claimed “apparent bias” from the judge handling it, and questioned her jurisdiction.
Mr Justice Mellor firmly rejected those arguments, refusing permission to appeal and describing the case as “completely hopeless”. He said Finnan’s complaints were largely procedural, had “no substance”, and that the appeal looked like an attempt to delay the final hearing of the bankruptcy petition for as long as possible.
The petition will now proceed to further directions before a judge in the insolvency list.
Selling his Istanbul medal
In an effort to meet his mounting legal costs, Finnan has already sold some of his most prized football possessions. In 2020, he is understood to have auctioned his 2005 Champions League winner’s medal – earned on Liverpool’s famous night in Istanbul – for at least £12,000, as well as match-worn shirts.
From non-league to European champion
Limerick-born Finnan’s playing story is one of football’s great ladder climbs: from non-league Welling United to Birmingham, Notts County, Fulham, and then Liverpool, where he played between 2003 and 2008.
He won 52 caps for the Republic of Ireland and is uniquely remembered as the only player to have appeared in:
- The World Cup
- The Champions League
- The UEFA Cup
- The Intertoto Cup
- All four tiers of English league football
- The Conference
But after a glittering career on the pitch, his fortunes off it have turned bitterly sour – with a failed family business, years of litigation, and now the threat of personal bankruptcy hanging over one of Liverpool’s quietest cult heroes.
