- Brandon Williams was seen arriving at Chester Crown Court on Friday morning
- He will be sentenced having previously been found guilty of dangerous driving
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Former Manchester United footballer Brandon Williams was seen arriving at Chester Crown Court in Cheshire on Friday morning ahead of his sentencing.
Williams, 24, was pictured in a black suit as he is set to face a potential two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to dangerous driving last month.
Williams crashed his car at 99mph ‘with a balloon in his mouth’ while accompanied by a young woman in August 2023.
Prosecutors said it was ‘fortunate’ nobody was seriously injured or killed in the crash, which occurred on the A34 in Cheshire.
His sentencing comes nearly a year since he was released by Manchester United when his four-year deal worth £65,000 a week ran out, leaving the left-back without a club.
Prior to pleading guilty, Williams already has a chequered driving history that saw him accrue 30 penalty points.
Brandon Williams, 24, was seen arriving at Chester Crown Court on Friday morning
He was pictured in a black suit ahead of the sentencing
Williams crashed his car at 99mph on the A34 in Cheshire
He received driving bans of six months in October 2023 and 12 months in May 2024.
In the case from last May, he twice failed to declare who was driving and was awarded 12 points as well as a £1,000 fine.
Prior to his sentencing, Williams spoke out about how he has found it difficult to cope after not being picked up by another club.
Speaking on Ben Foster’s The Fozcast, Williams explained: ‘It hurts me watching football now because I just want to be there, I just want to play, I miss being in a team, on the coach, I just think it’s that thing where it gets too much for somebody sometimes.’
Following the expiry of his contract with the Red Devils and his failure to find a new club, Williams has not played a competitive match since December 29, 2023.
He was left out of Ipswich’s matchday squad for the second half of last season as they secured promotion to the Premier League, and then failed to earn a new contract at United.
Over nine months after moving on from United, Williams is still without a club, but he suggested the break could benefit him in the long run after hinting that he fell out of love with football in recent years.
‘Maybe I needed that break, just like take everything in to reset,’ he added.
His sentencing comes nearly a year since he was released by Manchester United, who opted not to renew his contract
Williams was once tipped for stardom, with United legend Gary Neville hailing his attitude in his breakthrough season.
After Williams starred in United’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Wolves in January 2020, Neville wrote on Twitter: ‘I like Brandon Williams. What I like about him specifically is he has that look in his eye of someone that would eat his opponents nose to win the match. Keep going kid! Oh, he can play football too which is always a bonus.’
Williams did kick on in the latter half of the season, keeping the much more experienced Luke Shaw out of the team as Solskjaer put his faith in him.
It didn’t take long for then-England boss Gareth Southgate to sit up and take notice, as he reportedly eyed Williams for a potential spot in his Euros squad the following year.
However, the 2020-21 season didn’t go to plan as Williams lost his United place to Shaw and struggled with injury setbacks.
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