Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving
Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after crashing a Lamborghini on a series of major roads in southern England.
The former England forward admitted at Basingstoke magistrates court on Tuesday to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3 and the A327 before a crash on 28 May. The incident brought an abrupt and troubling twist to the career of one of the most prominent English players of his generation.
Sterling, 31, also admitted possessing six nitrous oxide canisters for wrongful inhalation, a class C drug offence, and failing to provide a specimen when requested. He appeared in the Hampshire courtroom dressed in a black suit jacket, black trousers, black shoes and a dark top, cutting a restrained figure as the charges were put to him.
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. Police confirmed no other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported, despite the high-speed setting and the power of the car he was driving.
The case marks a stark contrast with the heights Sterling has reached on the pitch. He scored 20 goals in 82 appearances for England, a central figure in Gareth Southgate’s side that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the Euro 2020 final. At his peak, he was one of the most feared wide forwards in Europe.
His club journey has been equally high profile. Having come through the academy at QPR, Sterling made his senior breakthrough at Liverpool, where his pace and direct running quickly turned him into a marquee talent. Manchester City moved for him in 2015, and his time under Pep Guardiola delivered a haul of silverware: four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup in 2019.
The momentum began to slow after his move to Chelsea in 2022. Minutes became harder to find, his influence waned, and he spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Arsenal in search of a fresh spark. After leaving Stamford Bridge earlier this year, he signed a short-term deal with Feyenoord until the end of the season. That contract has now expired, leaving him currently without a club.
Off the field, Sterling has long been recognised as a leading voice against racism in football. In the 2021 Queen’s birthday honours, he was made an MBE for services to racial equality in sport, having fronted anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and spoken out powerfully about abuse on and off the pitch.
Now, as he awaits the full consequences of his guilty pleas, a player once defined by his acceleration and decision-making faces a very different kind of reckoning – and an uncertain future in the game he once lit up.
