Former England international Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after crashing his Lamborghini Urus on a Hampshire motorway earlier this year.
Appearing at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, the 31-year-old admitted to driving dangerously along the M25, M3, A327 and Minley Road before losing control of his vehicle on the M3 southbound near the Minley interchange on the morning of 28 May. He also pleaded guilty to possessing six canisters of nitrous oxide, a Class C drug, for wrongful inhalation, as well as failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed the incident was a single-vehicle collision, with no other cars involved and no injuries reported at the scene.
Sterling, who is originally from Berkshire, appeared in court dressed in a black suit jacket, black trousers, black shoes and a dark top for the hearing.
The forward built his reputation as one of the standout talents of his generation, coming through the youth ranks at Queens Park Rangers before making his senior breakthrough at Liverpool. A move to Manchester City in 2015 turned him into one of the Premier League's most decorated players, with Sterling collecting four league titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup during his time at the Etihad Stadium.
His club career later took him to Chelsea in 2022, though he struggled to establish himself as a regular starter there. He spent the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Arsenal before departing Stamford Bridge altogether earlier this year. Sterling subsequently signed a short-term deal with Dutch side Feyenoord that ran until the end of the season, and he is currently a free agent without a club.
On the international stage, Sterling earned 82 caps for England, scoring 20 goals and playing a central role in some of the country's most successful recent tournament campaigns. He was part of the squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final, and his final England appearance came at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Beyond his footballing achievements, Sterling has been a prominent voice in the fight against racism in sport. He was awarded an MBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to racial equality, recognising his outspoken campaigning against discrimination both on and off the pitch. That recognition came during a period of heightened debate in English football, as some fans booed players for taking the knee before matches in protest against racial injustice.
Sterling's guilty pleas mean the case will now move toward sentencing, though no date has yet been confirmed. The player has not issued any public statement regarding the case beyond his admissions in court.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football, Standard Football, and BBC Sport Football.