Debts pile up

Darts legend is up to his neck in debt

Mervyn King is on the brink of ruin.

(Bild: Jef Matthee)

Mervyn King was once one of the best darts players in the world, but now the 58-year-old is up to his neck in debt. The Englishman owes more than half a million euros to the tax office.

During his successful career, Mervyn King cashed in handsomely. The problem: he apparently didn't know that he had to pay tax on his prize money. "I've been burying my head in the sand for the last two decades," he tells The Sun. Now he is facing ruin, his debts are piling up and amount to the equivalent of around 600,000 euros. Last week, he was declared bankrupt by the High Court of Justice in London.

Mervyn King

(Bild: Jef Matthee)

Now the darts legend even has to fear for his home. "Tracey (editor's note: King's wife) is worried that we will lose the house. But if we lose it, we lose it. There's nothing I can do about that. It all depends on the official receiver and what he wants to do," says King, who also has three dogs to look after. He heavily criticizes the major associations PDC and BDO. "They paid out your prize money and left you alone with it."

"... then I would have gone straight to prison"
 In any case, he had now taken the step of contacting the tax office. "That was better than if they had found me and said: 'Excuse me, Mr. King, why haven't you paid taxes for 20 years?' Because I think I would have gone straight to prison," says King, who also lost his PDC Tour Card at the end of 2024.

"I haven't slept much at night in the last four or five years because I've been worried about it. The problem is that you think the money will last forever, but that's not the case," said King. Postscript: "Unfortunately, I can't turn back time."