Football clubs and players ordered to pay record £166million in unpaid tax last season

FOOTIE clubs and players coughed up a record £165.8million in unpaid tax last season, figures reveal.

It included £124.8million from clubs and a whopping £37.7million from stars.

And it is the most recovered since a tax avoidance probe into the sport was launched in 2015.

Figured obtained by The Sun on Sunday show a record 384 footballers are under investigation for tax avoidance — up from 329 last year.

Some 27 clubs and 82 agents are also being probed.

Players who paid up include stars in the Premier League, where clubs have spent £2.44billion on new players for this season, which is liable for VAT.

Arsenal paid West Ham £105million for Declan Rice.

And Chelsea topped that with £115million for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

The probe by HM Revenue & Customs has recovered £725million in all. It is part of a crackdown on tax avoidance linked to image rights deals.

Cash is paid to a firm set up by a player — subject to 19 per cent corporation tax not 45 per cent income tax.

Clubs also pay agents commission which HMRC aims to tax.