Meanwhile, Baardsen has denied Riise’s claim for £3m, and says he will counter-claim for 9m kroner (£750,000) from the player.
Once administrators have decided what assets Baardsen has to share among his creditors, the dispute with Riise is likely to be decided in court in the Norwegian town of Stravanger.
The money that Riise is claiming has gone missing was allegedly taken out on loans unauthorised by the footballer and taken out in his name.
Earlier this month, it was reported Riise had privately admitted signing documents on Baardsen’s recommendation without scrutinising the detail.
Investments also include a hotel that went out of business and fears have been raised that if Riise cannot obtain the funds from Baardsen, he may have to cover the costs of certain creditors himself.
In February, Riise told the Norwegian newspaper VG: “I trusted him (Baardsen) and was shocked when I found out what had happened.
“Now I have some good people around me that will help me out of this. Maybe this can be a warning to other young footballers.”
Riise is among the generation of footballers that have enjoyed multi-million pound salaries in recent years.
Bought by Gerard Houllier from Monaco in summer, 2001, for around £4m, Riise has been a major part of Rafael Benitez’s first team and signed a contract last January that will keep him at the club until 2009.
Since leaving Baardsen, Riise has signed up with agent Struan Marshall of the SFX management company which also represents Steven Gerrard.
Riise now has a team of London-based Norwegian lawyers trying to untangle the web of financial investments he entered into.
Baardsen’s assets are said to be low in comparison to the amount creditors are trying to recover, and those claiming money from the agent may have to guarantee the legal costs of the court investigation if the state refuses to underwrite it.
Riise is understood to reject completely claims by Baardsen that he is still owed money for work on contract negotiations on previous deals the player has signed at Liverpool.
Last night, Mr Marshall said: “A bankruptcy order was made against John yesterday, but it was only due to an oversight that the issue reached court.
“The matter is currently in the hands of solicitors who are dealing with it as a matter of urgency and they are confident it will be resolved in the near future.”
Liverpool Football Club last night said it could not comment on a private matter.
FOR more news from the Liverpool Daily Post - click here
News RSS Feed