Danny Guthrie: Ex-footballer bankrupt over £120k gambling debt

Former footballer Danny Guthrie has been declared bankrupt after he racked up £120,000 in gambling debts.

The 35-year-old started at Liverpool before playing for Bolton, Newcastle, Reading, Blackburn and Walsall.

In May 2019 he borrowed £75,000 from a friend to pay his expenses, promising to repay the loan after selling a home.

But before that he ran up the gambling debts, and when he sold the property in 2020 for £160,000, he chose to repay those debts ahead of other creditors.

The Insolvency Service said he did this "by making several cash withdrawals despite knowing he was insolvent".

Guthrie, whose last-known address was listed as Damac Towers in Dubai, accepted a six-year bankruptcy order until May 2028 at Stoke County Court.

It means he is under a number of restrictions, including not being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status, and he cannot act as a company director without the court's permission.

Insolvency Service official receiver Kevin Read said: "Danny Guthrie's actions were deliberate in dissipating assets, at a time he was already insolvent, and to the loss of his creditors.

"This extension of bankruptcy restrictions should serve as a warning that the Insolvency Service will take action to tackle such financial wrongdoing."

Guthrie also had spells at Southampton, Fulham, Mitra Kukar in Indonesia and Icelandic second tier team Fram.

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