Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has confessed to losing up to £5million due to ‘financial abuse’ from investments made during his football career.

The former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder is among 11 retired professionals who have formed the V11 campaign group, each having invested with Kingsbridge Asset Management during the 1990s and 2000s.

Murphy has shared his experience of how a series of investments through a Kingsbridge scheme led to ’embarrassment and guilt,’ as featured in the BBC’s new documentary Football’s Financial Shame: The Story of the V11.

‘It’s the shame, embarrassment and guilt of getting yourself in a position that you think you’re better than.’ 

The 48-year-old is one of around 200 footballers impacted by the scheme, which also affected Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. Now, the former players face demands for millions more in taxes, despite being told they were ‘victims of crime.’

Over the years, Murphy has frequently discussed his story in the Daily Mail. After retiring in 2013, he descended into depression due to the ‘financial mess’ he was in, among other issues, and turned to alcohol and drugs.

In a column for the Mail on Sunday in 2021, the pundit spoke of how dangerous investments can be for footballers and how they can be taken advantage of by advisers. 

‘Footballers are usually working-class guys with little experience or knowledge of financial matters,’ he wrote. 

‘So you have this whole industry of men in smart suits, impressive company names, glossy brochures and all the patter promising to look after your earnings wisely.

‘Of course, there are some decent financial advisers but footballers will know others who turn out to be greedy and self-serving. Some overseas property investments proved disastrous. I, like many players, was caught up in the film schemes that were sold to us as tax relief. It turned into a saga of litigation and police enquiries.

‘I’d worked hard during my short career to provide savings for the rest of my life — and most of it had gone. That was an extra toll on my mental health besides losing the physical buzz, camaraderie and acclaim the game had given me.

‘I have many friends, ex-Premier League players, who are bankrupt and have had long bouts of depression.’

When Murphy hung up his boots, after a 20-year career that saw him win the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup (now known as the Europa League), life after the game started well as he enjoyed ‘playing golf, doing media work and taking family holidays’.

However, what happened thereafter hit him like a ‘sledgehammer’, and his life was turned upside down for a multitude of reasons.

‘The realisation I wouldn’t play football again, combined with the loss of most of my savings, left me suffering from depression, something I was in denial about at the time,’ Murphy continued.

‘During the dark days, which lasted 12 months, I indulged in drink, drugs and gambling. My marriage broke down, I fell out with my brothers and friends and became really isolated.

‘It was a horrendous place until a mix of professional therapy and support from loved ones helped me back. And I consider myself blessed in comparison: I know many other ex-players who have struggled for years, some have felt suicidal.

‘I’d go out drinking and gambling for longer. I’d dabble in drugs. What started out as sociable activities led over time to being isolated. 

‘The vices would be moved behind closed doors. And of course the problems I wanted to leave behind had doubled in my head the following morning.’