Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving Charges

Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after crashing a Lamborghini on a motorway in May.

The 31-year-old forward admitted at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3, the A327 and Minley Road before the crash on 28 May.

He also admitted possessing six nitrous oxide cannisters for wrongful inhalation – a class C drug – and failing to provide a specimen.

Sterling arrived at the Hampshire court dressed in a black suit jacket, black trousers, black shoes and a dark top, cutting a subdued figure far removed from the high-energy winger who once lit up international tournaments.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the charges stemmed from a single-vehicle collision on the M3 southbound, near the Minley interchange, on 28 May. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.

The case marks a stark off-field chapter in the career of a player who became one of England’s most prominent modern internationals. Sterling scored 20 goals in 82 appearances for his country, playing a key role as Gareth Southgate’s side reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020.

Raised in west London’s footballing system, he emerged from the QPR academy before moving to Liverpool, where he made his senior breakthrough. A high-profile transfer to Manchester City followed in 2015, and with it a haul of domestic honours: four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the 2019 FA Cup.

His club journey has grown more unsettled in recent years. Sterling left City for Chelsea in 2022 but slipped down the pecking order, spending the 2024-25 season on loan at Arsenal. He then joined Dutch side Feyenoord on a short-term deal until the end of last season and is currently without a club.

Sterling’s influence has long stretched beyond the pitch. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was made an MBE for services to racial equality in sport, recognition for fronting anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and speaking out forcefully against racism on and off the field.

Now, as he waits to learn the full consequences of his actions on that May night, one of English football’s most recognisable modern figures finds his next move – in football and in life – under intense scrutiny.