Wes Brown: Why did former Man Utd star go bankrupt? | OneFootball

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown is now reportedly renting a property from a current Old Trafford star after being officially declared bankrupt last month.

Brown spent a total of 19 years at the 'Theatre of Dreams', making 262 appearances and winning 19 trophies during his time at the club.

At the peak of his career, Brown was believed to be earning around £50,000-a-week at United, which was why many observers were shocked to learn of his financial woes just five years after he retired from the game.

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Wes Brown: Former Man Utd & England defender declared bankrupt

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, the petition to make the 43-year-old bankrupt came from two parties.

One was HMRC - who Brown is said to owe a six-figure sum in unpaid taxes - while the other was a car finance company due only a few thousand pounds.

Why did Wes Brown go bankrupt?

A source close to Brown summed up his money problems when speaking to the Mail. "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 teammates earning five or six times more than he was."

Brown's finances took a major hit last year when he officially split from his wife of 12 years, Real Housewives of Cheshire star Leanne Wassell.

Divorce proceedings were estimated to have cost Brown a significant sum, but his money worries appear to have begun because of a number of poor property investments.

"Most of his money disappeared in bad property deals," revealed the source. "He overpaid on the farm that Leanne lives in. He spent something like £6m 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.

"A previous property of theirs was once listed at £4.5m but took seven years to sell, finally going for £2.4m - almost half price."

Former Man Utd colleagues on hand to support Brown after his bankruptcy

Elsewhere in their report, the Mail say that several of Brown's former United colleagues have rallied around him after learning of his bankruptcy.

Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick are believed to have been in touch to offer support, while Marcus Rashford went one step further in helping out as he is believed to be letting Brown stay in one of his lavish Manchester properties at what were described as 'mates' rates'.

Brown, who works as an occasional pundit for the club's MUTV channel, will make his next public appearance as part of the 'Manchester Remembers' charity football match at Oldham's Boundary Park this weekend.