Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving

Raheem Sterling has admitted driving dangerously in a Lamborghini on a series of major roads before crashing on a motorway in May.

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

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

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-profile forward who has lit up major tournaments for England.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the charges followed 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 episode in the career of a player who has been a central figure for club and country over the past decade. Sterling scored 20 goals in 82 appearances for England, playing a key role in Gareth Southgate’s run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020.

He first emerged at QPR’s academy before moving to Liverpool, where he made his senior debut and quickly became one of the Premier League’s brightest young talents. A high-profile transfer to Manchester City followed in 2015, and with it a haul of major honours: four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the 2019 FA Cup.

Sterling left City for Chelsea in 2022 but gradually slipped down the pecking order and spent 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.

Away from the pitch, Sterling’s influence has stretched well beyond goals and trophies. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was awarded an MBE for services to racial equality in sport after leading anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and speaking out forcefully against racism on and off the pitch.

Now, as he weighs his next move in a career at a crossroads, those achievements sit alongside a serious driving conviction that will follow him into whatever comes next.