Five Premier League stars who went bankrupt including Man Utd icon and England regular

The short nature of a professional football career means players must be extra careful with their finances. Several former Premier League stars have been made bankrupt over the last few years for several reasons, including struggling to manage the financial difficulties of a post-playing career.

According to court documents, former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark is the latest in a line of ex-players to be declared bankrupt. The bankruptcy order is said to have been issued on June 10, seven months after the petition was issued to London Gazzette. Express Sport looks at five former Premier League players who went bankrupt.

Lee Clark

Clark had two successful stints at Newcastle, and also played for Sunderland and Fulham in the Premier League. Initially touted as a highly-rated young manager, he impressed as head coach of Huddersfield and Birmingham.

The 52-year-old has since managed in Sudan and Oman. court documents claim that Clark, whose son Bobby won the League Cup with Liverpool, was made bankrupt earlier this month.

David James

James is evidence that even the best players can suffer from financial problems. The goalkeeper's career spanned four decades and he played 53 times for England. But he declared himself bankrupt in May 2014.

Six months later, the individual appointed to oversee James' bankruptcy auctioned off vast amounts of his memorabilia. Personal items, including exercise machines, DJ equipment and a Vauxhall van were placed on sale, according to a BBC report at the time.

Lee Hendrie

Despite a successful career, spent largely at Aston Villa, Hendrie faced spiralling debts in 2012. He was declared bankrupt and was reported by the BBC to have twice tried to take his own life.

"If I was to say I wasted my money gambling or that I just didn't care about my money, that wouldn't be true," Hendrie told the BBC. "My intentions were to look after my family and put my money into investments.

"But along the way I had a divorce which hit me hard in the pocket and then I bought houses which turned out to be bad investments and I couldn't sell them."

Keith Gillespie

Gillespie came through the same Manchester United youth team as Ryan Giggs and other members of the Red Devils' Class of '92. However, after spells with Newcastle and Sheffield United, gambling and a botched scheme prompted the former midfielder to estimate that he lost well over £7m during his career.

He told the Guardian: "I lost an awful lot of money through gambling over the years, but I also lost money on property and got involved in a film scheme like a lot of footballers did."

Eric Djemba-Djemba

A cult hero at Man Utd despite making very few appearances, Djemba-Djemba was declared bankrupt only four years after he signed for Premier League club Aston Villa in 2005.