Brandon Williams was hugely promising youngster at Manchester United
Now he is facing possibility of prison sentence for dangerous driving
By WILL GRIFFEE
Published: 05:39 EDT, 1 April 2025 | Updated: 05:39 EDT, 1 April 2025
Ex-Manchester United starlet Brandon Williams will learn his fate on May 9 after pleading guilty to a dangerous driving charge that could land him two years in prison.
The 24-year-old, who burst onto the scene with his boyhood club in 2019, crashed his car at 99mph 'with a balloon in his mouth' while accompanied by a young woman in August 2023.
It was said to be a miracle that nobody was killed or injured in the A34 crash in Cheshire but it remains to be seen how severely punished Williams will be for his recklessness.
Next month, the verdict will be handed down and there's a maximum sentence of two years. Anything close to that amount would scupper his plans to resurrect his football career.
Williams is currently without a club and it is approaching a year since his £65,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford ran out.
He already has a chequered driving history, amassing 30 penalty points and being given driving bans of six months in October 2023 and 12 months in May 2024.
Prosecutors said it was 'fortunate nobody died after Brandon Williams crashed at 99mph
He is believed to have earned around £65,000 per week, or £3.4million every single year
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.
The defender grew up in Manchester's tough Harpurhey estate, while his mother Lisa Wood runs a cafe, Snack Attack, on Harpurhey market.
He is from a tight knit family and Lisa watched on in court as her son made his guilty plea in March.
Pictures of her son's football success are still plastered all over the walls of Snack Attack.
The KC representing Williams argued that there is a mental health aspect to be considered and Williams himself has previously alluded to the difficulties in transitioning from a humble background to representing one of the biggest club's in the world.
In a YouTube interview, for the More Than A Match channel hosted by Williams’ former United youth team colleague D’Mari Mellor and another former footballer, Ryan Hopper, Williams described how his life ‘went from 0-100 real quick and that’s what people will never understand’.
Referring to his background as an ‘estate kid’, he said: ‘I’m from that area, it’s red, red, red, like. I’ve done stuff with my mum’s cafe.
'The limelight’s on you and the things I found hard was when I was out with my family and people are coming up to me and asking for photos.
Normal activities such as shopping and eating out became complicated due to his status
Williams took to social media to pen an emotional message after leaving United last summer
'I’m about to eat my steak and someone’s come up for a picture. When I’m with my family, I’m with my family. That’s what I lost.’
Williams' last appearance on the football pitch came in December 2023 while on loan at Ipswich Town.
It was his second spell away from United having also represented Norwich in the Championship and he will be desperate to find a way back.
He made 47 appearances in total for Man United and posted an emotional message on Instagram after leaving.
Williams wrote: 'I always hoped I would never have to make this post but here we are. Since the age of seven, this Manchester United football club has been part of my life from the Cliff to Carrington day in day out.
'But to have been able to make brothers which will last a lifetime, I want to thank my team-mates, especially the ones I've shared the last 17 years with.'