Former Manchester United star Brandon Williams has opened up on the high-speed car crash three years ago that led to him being handed a 14-month suspended prison sentence.

United academy product Williams, now 25, was tipped for a bright future at Old Trafford after making an impressive start to his senior career under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Williams played 51 times for United after making his debut in September 2019 but fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag as his life away from the pitch began to spiral.

In May 2025, the full back was handed a 14-month sentence, suspended for two years, after crashing his Audi A3 at almost 100mph on August 20 2023. He was convicted of dangerous driving.

Williams, who was once paid £3.4million a year as a promising young defender, had been ‘driving erratically’ in his Audi A3 before hitting a Ford Fiesta and careering into the central reservation of the A34 in Cheshire. 

Brandon Williams was tipped for a bright future at Old Trafford after a string of impressive displays in the first-team

In May 2025, however, he was handed a 14-month sentence, suspended for two years, after crashing his Audi A3 at almost 100mph in 2023

‘It made me grow up as a person and realise that this is real life, this isn’t GTA (Grand Theft Auto) or something like that,’ Williams told The Athletic.

‘It was a proper wake-up call. Since then it was about building and changing a reputation that I had and that’s not me.’

The court also heard about Williams use of nitrous oxide – also known as ‘balloons’ or ‘laughing gas’. Though he had a balloon in his mouth at the time of the smash, Williams was not under the influence of the drug but admitted to using it in the past.

‘I look back at myself now and think what an idiot I was,’ said Williams. ‘That is not what an athlete does, it’s not what a footballer does, it’s not what a grown man does. It’s stupid stuff.’ 

Williams, who had spells on loan away from Old Trafford at Norwich and Ipswich, didn’t play a professional game for 20 months before he signed for Hull in August last year, 14 months after United released him.

The move, however, didn’t work out and he left the Tigers by mutual consent in February after making just one substitute appearance.

Williams remains determined to make a return to professional football

Williams remains determined to get his career back on track. He has been training with League Two side Rotherham this summer but is waiting to find out whether the club will offer him a deal.

He said: ‘I’ve let a lot of people down, to be honest, and I want to prove a lot of people wrong as well.

‘That’s one thing that is left to do in my life, to get back onto the football pitch and show what I can do.’

The Millers are now managed by Alex Bruce, son of veteran manager Steve, and Steve McClaren, who served as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson and later Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, is also the Head of Football.

Williams, who has similarly faced significant injury troubles, subsequently featured in Rotherham’s pre-season friendly against Parkgate on Friday night.

Speaking after a pre-season friendly with Parkgate, Bruce provided insight into why he was training with the club.

‘Brandon has a good pedigree,’ he told the Rotherham Advertiser. ‘He’s worked with the very best and played against the best. 

‘He was showing me a game between Manchester United and Liverpool at Anfield where he was playing. We know what he’s capable of. 

‘He’s had a tough couple of years. He’s not done a proper pre-season for two or three years now and he’s had a few problems with injuries. It’s a case of just seeing where he’s at, getting a good pre-season into him and seeing where we go with it.’

Williams is expected to receive more gametime as the Millers, who will hope to battle for promotion straight back to League One, step up their preparations for the new season.

Pressed on whether Williams is likely to be part of their plans in the long-term, Bruce added: ‘He’s going to continue training, we’re going to have a good look at him. I think he’s enjoyed it here so far.

‘So we’ll give him time, get the fitness levels into him and then, when both parties are happy, we’ll try to make a decision.’