Former soccer star Gillespie declared bankrupt

FORMER Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie has been declared bankrupt, it was revealed yesterday.

The former Manchester United and Newcastle United midfielder, 35, has been served with a creditor’s petition and is listed in an official receiver bankruptcy notice.

He played last season with Glentoran in the Irish Premiership and is one of Northern Ireland’s most capped players, with 86 appearances since his debut in 1994.

A Revenue and Customs spokesman confirmed it had taken action against Gillespie, who has an address in Bangor, Co Down, over a tax bill. He refused to say how much the service was owed.

Mr Gillespie is one of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated footballers with more than 80 caps.

His full-time career began with Manchester United where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, and was part of the side’s “golden generation”, which won the Youth Cup in 1992. Gillespie made the move to Old Trafford after starring for St Andrews in Belfast, which led to his glamour move to the Premiership.

The player was born in Larne, but grew up in north Down and not long after leaving his school desk at Bangor Grammar he was given his Manchester United debut against Bury in the FA Cup by Alex Ferguson, just a few weeks before his 18th birthday.

Playing success at Newcastle was not without its temptations off the pitch, however, with a number of national newspapers carrying stories about Gillespie having gambling problems.

He later went on the record with the men’s magazine, Loaded, saying that he had once gambled £47,000 (€54,000) in a day. In a documentary, Gillespie told the BBC he had moved on from that episode in his life which he put down to “boredom”.

“I would maybe have a bet over the phone and it would get more serious and before I knew it I was losing too much money and I couldn’t really get out of it trying to get it back,” he said.