Former football star McKinlay made bankrupt

McKinlay, who was considered one of his generation’s leading talents, was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills, believed to be owed to the taxman.

According to reports, the former player, who when on to become a highly-regarded coach, has become the latest of the sport’s victims of a now notorious film production investment scheme.

McKinlay, 48, who played 45 times for Scotland, including at Euro 1996 and the World Cup in 1998 – and had spells south of the border with Leicester City and Fulham, ploughed money into a scheme called Eclipse.

McKinlay was listed as a director with Eclipse Film Partners No.9, a scheme which allowed investors the opportunity to claim tax relief through investing in the production of movies.

However, in April last year, the Supreme Court upheld a judgement that one of the biggest partnerships, Eclipse 35, was a tax avoidance scheme.

HMRC have since used that judgement to issue demands to investors, who include several footballers and managers, such as former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson.

While some have also declared themselves bankrupt as a result of the ruling, others have been hit with bills for millions to pay back the taxman.

McKinlay applied for bankruptcy after running up debts of £686,245. It was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland’s insolvency service, earlier this month.

Bankruptcy trustee Antonia McIntyre of Glasgow-based insolvency specialists MLM Solutions – has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors.

McKinlay, who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Weybridge, Surrey, has declared he only has £2705 worth of assets available to pay off his creditors.

Since retiring from the game, McKinlay has coached at Watford and Fulham and was No2 to David Moyes at Real Sociedad in Spain.