LEFT WITH NOTHING

Shock £4m tax bill forced footballer to sell all he had

- DUNCAN FERGUSON

IN Duncan Ferguson's sensational autobiography Big Dunc, the Everton hero striker reveals how he went from riches to rags. How he found himself trapped in millions of pounds of debt like many other football legends, and that being jailed for headbutting a player was not his only low point.

I was kneeling in front of my wife Janine, pulling at her finger. This time I was not proposing. I was going to pawn her beautiful engagement ring.

It was one of the lowest moments of my life. How the hell had it come to this? It was painful to admit we desperately needed the money because of bad investments and were selling everything to survive.

I was 26 when I married Janine, who was a year younger, at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool on June 26, 1998. It was a 12.30 kick-off. Janine was late, but worth the wait.

She looked stunning all in white, tiara, veil kept back and - a lovely touch - she was shielded from the rain by a blue-and-white Everton umbrella as she walked from the Bentley.

I was inside, looking (I thought) very dashing in my kilt and full Scottish attire. I'd tied my kilt very tight and was having a bit of trouble breathing. Maybe it was the emotion of the occasion, too.

A Highland piper saluted Janine's arrival and then came the Trumpet Voluntary as her dad Tony walked her up the aisle. It was lovely.

I'd bought Janine a lot of jewellery when I had the money. I had to flog all my jewellery too. We had Rolexes, 60-grand diamond rings, 100-grand watches, and I flogged the lot to keep us going. We left Janine's engagement ring until last. I finally said to her: "This will have to go."