Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving and Drug Possession

Raheem Sterling has admitted driving a Lamborghini dangerously on three major roads before crashing the car in May.

The former England forward pleaded guilty at Basingstoke magistrates court on Tuesday to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3 and the A327 on 28 May, when the vehicle was involved in a crash.

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

Sterling appeared at the Hampshire court dressed in a black suit jacket, black trousers, black shoes and a dark top.

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.

Career Highlights

The case marks a stark moment in the career of a player who became one of the defining figures of Gareth Southgate’s England. Sterling scored 20 goals in 82 appearances for his country, playing a central role in the run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020.

He rose through the academy at QPR 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 major trophies: four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup in 2019.

Sterling left City for Chelsea in 2022 but slipped down the pecking order and spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Arsenal. After departing Stamford Bridge earlier this year, he signed a short-term deal with Feyenoord until the end of the season.

He is currently without a club.

Away from the Pitch

Away from the pitch, Sterling was made an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s birthday honours for services to racial equality in sport, having fronted anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns and spoken out forcefully against racism for several years.