Top footie clubs, players and agents cough up £800million after HMRC blitz

TOP footie clubs, players and agents have coughed up £800million since HMRC began a tax avoidance probe.

The huge tally of unpaid taxes since 2005 includes £75million in the last year.

And latest HMRC figures reveal 396 investigations are ongoing — including potential abuses at 33 professional clubs.

Newcastle United recently settled a £10million tax dispute that dated back to Mike Ashley’s ownership of the club.

Chelsea are being probed having reported themselves to the Premier League after spotting issues as Todd Boehly’s consortium took over ownership from Roman Abramovich.

Manchester United are under investigation too, while legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson faces scrutiny over his ACF Sports Promotion firm.

Earlier this year, ex-Man City defender Benjamin Mendy was forced to sell his £5million Cheshire mansion to repay an £800,000 tax debt.

Meanwhile, the number of tax investigations in football is likely to rise as a result of inquiries into “dual representation” transfer deals.

The deals would see agents claim to work for both a club and a player and split their fee between them.

HMRC believes agents work mostly for players and therefore should pay more tax.

Officials warn they will no longer accept a 50/50 split as the “standard approach”.