Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp told police that he has never attempted to 'fiddle' taxes and reiterated that he is a "bad" businessman, a court heard today.
The former Portsmouth manager, who is on trial for two counts of tax evasion alongside ex-Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric at Southwark Crown Court, claimed in June 2009 that he was a 'giver, not a taker'.
"We are givers not takers," Redknapp said in an interview with London police. "I am not a tax fiddler, I am not any kind of tax fiddler, never have been in my life."
The 64-year-old gave two examples of how he lost substantial amounts of money, one of which was in an £8.5m investment in a property in Southsea, Hampshire with Samir Khan, a business associate of former Portsmouth goalkeeper David James.
The coach went on to claim that he had wasted £250,000 trying to help friend Jim Smith keep his job at Oxford United.
"I've signed a form that says he's half in, and he ain't put no money in, and I've signed the forms now, you can ask my solicitor in Bournemouth, and they can't believe that I didn't read anything," Redknapp told police.
"I thought he said 'I'll meet you halfway, I'll put half in what you put in'. He put half in what I put in up to that point and my own money was about two hundred grand, now he's in for nothing and he has half the profit.
"The only downside is it's only worth four million pound now and I've done like six million you know, my house is up against it but that's where I'm at, that's how useless I am with things, and you can check with my solicitor if you like."
Redknapp went on to say that he is clueless when it comes to business.
"I'll give you my solicitor's name, you ask him if he's ever come across anyone as bad businesswise as I am. Unfortunately I live my life like that."
Both Redknapp and Mandaric have denied the charges.
Danielle Joynson
