Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving and Drug Offence

Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after crashing a Lamborghini on a series of motorways earlier this year.

The former England forward appeared at Basingstoke magistrates court on Tuesday, where he admitted driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3 and the A327 before a collision on 28 May.

The 31-year-old also admitted possessing six nitrous oxide canisters for wrongful inhalation – a class C drug offence – and failing to provide a specimen when requested.

Sterling, dressed in a black suit jacket, black trousers, black shoes and a dark top, listened as the charges were outlined in court.

Police from Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary had previously confirmed the case stemmed from a single-vehicle crash on the M3 southbound near the Minley interchange on 28 May. No other cars were involved and no injuries were reported.

The court appearance marks a stark turn in the story of a player who, at his peak, helped define a generation for England. Sterling scored 20 goals in 82 caps, a central figure in Gareth Southgate’s side that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020.

His rise began at QPR’s academy before a move to Liverpool, where he broke into senior football as one of the Premier League’s brightest young forwards. Manchester City then made him a marquee signing in 2015, and he became a serial winner at the Etihad: four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup in 2019.

The momentum slowed after his 2022 switch to Chelsea. Game time shrank, his influence waned, and he spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Arsenal. After leaving Stamford Bridge earlier this year, Sterling signed a short-term deal with Feyenoord until the end of the campaign.

He is currently without a club.

Off the pitch, Sterling’s legacy has long stretched beyond goals and medals. In the 2021 Queen’s birthday honours he was made an MBE for services to racial equality in sport, recognised for fronting anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and for speaking out forcefully against racism inside and outside football.

Now, with his playing future uncertain and a court case hanging over him, the question is no longer just where he plays next – but how he rebuilds from here.