Raheem Sterling pleads guilty to dangerous driving and possessing nitrous oxide

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FT Desk

Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and possessing nitrous oxide while driving.

Shortly before 9:00 AM on Thursday 28 May, Hampshire Police responded to a single-vehicle collision near the Minley Interchange. A vehicle had crashed into the motorway barriers, but no other cars were involved and no injuries were reported.

It was subsequently confirmed that the incident involved the then-Feyenoord attacker, who was back in England following the conclusion of the Eredivisie campaign in the Netherlands.

Hampshire Police outlined the details of the incident in an official statement.

"Just before 9am on Thursday, we received reports that a Lamborghini was in collision with barriers on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported," said the statement.

"The driver, a 31-year-old man, from Berkshire, has been arrested on suspicion of driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs, driving dangerously, possession of a Class C drug and failing to provide a specimen. He has been bailed while our enquiries continue."

It was later repported that no drugs were found in Sterling's system after tests, but the possession of nitrous oxide was included in the charges which he would eventually face in court this week.

A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesman said in August: "A driver will appear in court next month to face charges following a collision on the M3.

"Raheem Sterling, 31, from Berkshire, has been charged for the following offences: dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation, failing to provide a specimen.

"The charges come following a single vehicle collision, involving a Lamborghini, on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange [Hampshire], on 28 May, 2026.

"No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported. Mr Sterling is due to appear at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September."

At the court hearing, the former England forward pled guilty to all of those aforementioned charges.

A source close to Sterling told BBC Sport that the former England international had faced "an extremely tough couple of years" and had been made to "feel worthless" and "forgotten about".

At the end of the season he was released by Feyenoord but The Telegraph previously reported that Sterling remains keen to play at a high level and that he wants to continue playing on the continent in Europe rather than returning to England or potentially moving to MLS in the United States.