Raheem Sterling Admits Dangerous Driving Charges

Raheem Sterling has admitted dangerous driving after crashing a Lamborghini on a series of major roads in southern England.

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 before a collision on May 28.

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 restrained figure for a player long used to the glare of the spotlight for very different reasons.

Police had previously confirmed the charges followed a single-vehicle crash on the M3 southbound near the Minley interchange on May 28. No other cars were involved and no injuries were reported, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.

It marks a stark off-field chapter in the career of a footballer who became one of the defining figures of Gareth Southgate’s England.

Sterling scored 20 goals in 82 appearances for his country, a key part of the side that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020. At his peak in an England shirt, he carried attacks, changed games and often set the tone with his direct running and big-tournament temperament.

His club journey has been just as high profile. After coming through the academy at QPR, he moved to Liverpool, where he made his senior debut and quickly emerged as one of the Premier League’s brightest young forwards.

Manchester City signed him in 2015. In seven years at the Etihad, Sterling became a serial winner, lifting four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the 2019 FA Cup as part of one of the most dominant domestic sides English football has seen.

The move to Chelsea in 2022 was supposed to open another chapter at the top level. Instead, his influence waned. Having fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge, he spent the 2024-25 season on loan at Arsenal, then took a short-term deal with Feyenoord until the end of last season.

He is currently without a club.

Off the pitch, Sterling’s reputation has been shaped as much by his voice as his goals. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was awarded an MBE for services to racial equality in sport, recognition for his role in fronting anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and speaking out strongly against racism on and off the pitch.

Now, as he weighs his next move in football, he does so with a court case and a dangerous driving admission on his record – a stark contrast to the image of the England international once held up as both a standard-bearer on the field and a leading voice off it.