Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel, currently with the English Premier League's Aston Villa, has been declared bankrupt with debts of 5 million British pounds stemming from the 28-acre not-for-profit Premier Soccer Academies he launched in Lorain County in his home state of Ohio.
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The Morning Journal of Ohio reported that foreclosure against Premier Soccer Academies has been approved by the Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Soccer Ventures and Friedel owes more than $8.18 million to RBS Citizens National Association in the 2009 foreclosure lawsuit filed by the bank, according to the ruling. The academy offered full year-round scholarships to athletes ages 12 to 18. But the $11 million soccer facility depended on business sponsorships that dried up as the national economy stalled.

The Mirror reports that Friedel earns more than $60,000 per week at Aston Villa. It quoted a spokesman for Friedel as saying, "This is a technical bankruptcy and it is not anticipated that it will be in place for long as an application for an annulment will be submitted in the next few days. Arrangements are in place to deal with the issues which gave rise to the bankruptcy."