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Harry Redknapp said he paid a million pounds in income tax a year so did not need to "nick a few quid in a tax fiddle", a court heard today.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager told police he had paid "fortunes" in tax throughout his career and was getting between £35,000 to £40,000 a week in wages so had no reason to "put myself in trouble" by trying to cheat the taxman.
Redknapp, 64, said: "I've not purposely gone out to try and avoid paying some income tax. Why should I do that? I'm not going to ruin my life, and my wife's life and my boys.
"I've brought up a fantastic family, to try and nick a few quid off the income tax. Why? I'm not into that I don't need that. I'd rather give you a hundred grand than try and nick a few quid off you."
In recorded interviews with City of London police in 2009, the manager said that he was a "giver not a taker" and gave tens of thousands of pounds a year to charity as well as taking part in charity events. He said: "I've got a golf day tomorrow. I give £15,000 to Leukaemia Busters every year. Me and my wife give £10,000."
Redknapp has denied receiving payments totalling £189,000 in a Monaco bank account from former Portsmouth FC chairman Milan Mandaric as part of a tax scam.
The Spurs boss told police he had forgotten about the account as Mandaric told him the investments he had made on Redknapp's behalf had been a "disaster" and nearly all the money in the account had been lost.
Redknapp and Mandaric deny two counts of cheating the public revenue when Redknapp was manager of Portsmouth. Redknapp, who is tipped to become the next England manager, tried to convince investigators that he was a poor businessman and had made a string of bad investments.
Redknapp told police his home was at risk after he lost millions of pounds. He urged detectives to ask his solicitor if he had "ever come across anyone as bad, businesswise".
He said he lost £6 million in a property venture in Southsea, Hampshire, and had squandered £250,000 to help his friend, Jim Smith, keep his managerial job at Oxford United.
In a tape played to the jury, Redknapp said: "I've got an investment down in Southsea that I bought that I gave eight and a half million pound for. I could have let a guy come in half with me called Samir Khan, whose doing some business with David James.
"I've signed a form that says he's half in and he aint put no money in. I've signed the forms... My solicitor in Bournemouth they can't believe I didn't read anything. Now he's in for nothing and he has half the profit.
"The only downside is its only worth four million pound now and I've done like six million. My house is up against it. That's how useless I am with things."
The court also heard how Redknapp was old-fashioned with money and does not have a credit card. The trial continues.
