Raheem Sterling is due to appear in court next month after being charged with dangerous driving and possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation following a motorway crash in Hampshire.
The 31-year-old former England international was driving a Lamborghini when the vehicle struck barriers on the southbound M3 near the Minley Interchange on 28 May 2026. No other vehicles were involved and nobody was reported injured.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has charged Sterling with dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation and failing to provide a specimen. He is scheduled to appear at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on 15 September.
Sterling was arrested after the collision and later released on bail while police continued their enquiries. Officers had initially suspected him of driving while unfit through drugs, but that allegation does not form part of the charges now being brought before the court.
A source close to Sterling said in May that there was no evidence showing drugs in his system and described the player as having endured a difficult period away from regular first-team football.
Sterling is currently without a club after leaving Feyenoord at the end of last season. He joined the Rotterdam side on a short-term deal in February after ending his contract with Chelsea by mutual agreement.
Chelsea had signed Sterling from Manchester City for £47.5 million in 2022. During seven seasons at City, he won four Premier League titles, five League Cups and the FA Cup.
He spent the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Arsenal before returning to Chelsea, where he was subsequently left out of the first-team setup and trained separately from the main squad.
Sterling began his senior career at Liverpool and went on to become a long-standing member of the England national team. Between 2012 and 2022, he collected 82 international caps and represented England at three World Cups and two European Championships.