Raheem Sterling charged over Lamborghini crash on M3

Raheem Sterling will appear in court next month to face charges of dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide, and failing to provide a specimen, three months after crashing his Lamborghini into barriers on the M3.

The former England international, aged 31 and from Berkshire, is due at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September, according to BBC Sport. The charges relate to a single-vehicle collision on the morning of Thursday, 28 May, on the M3 southbound near the Minley Interchange in Hampshire. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.

Sterling was arrested at the scene and released on bail pending further enquiries. Police had initially suspected him of driving while unfit through drugs, but that charge was not included in the final set of offences. In May, a source close to the player told BBC Sport there was no proof of drugs in his system. Nitrous oxide — sometimes called "laughing gas" — is a substance that can be inhaled for a brief high and is classified as a controlled drug for the purposes of prosecution.

The car involved was a Lamborghini worth approximately £270,000, according to Goal and The Sun. Sterling could face up to two years in prison if convicted of dangerous driving.

For a player whose career has been lived at full pace, the past two years have brought a series of sharp stops. Sterling joined Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022 for £47.5m but spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Arsenal. When he returned to Chelsea, he was exiled from the first-team squad and made to train separately — a club's way of pushing a player out the door without saying so directly.

He left Chelsea by mutual consent and joined Dutch side Feyenoord in February on a short-term deal. That contract expired at the end of last season, and Sterling has been without a club since.

At his peak, Sterling was one of England's most reliable forwards. In seven years at Manchester City he won four Premier League titles, five League Cups and one FA Cup. He earned 82 England caps between 2012 and 2022, appearing at three World Cups and two European Championships.

Now 31 and unattached, he faces a court date that will determine more than just a legal outcome. Any conviction carries the possibility of a custodial sentence, and for a player already searching for his next club, the timing is unwelcome to say the least. The hearing on 15 September falls just weeks after the European transfer window shuts, meaning any prospective move would have to wait until January at the earliest.