Manchester United's Marcus Rashford banned from driving after 100mph speeds
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has been banned from driving for six months after reaching speeds of more than 100mph - overtaking an unmarked police car.
The 26-year-old said he believed he was being followed when he overtook the car on the M60 in Manchester.
The footballer was at the wheel of his Rolls-Royce Cullinan Blue Shadow on the clockwise carriageway of the motorway at 12:31am on 12 December 2023, court documents from Manchester Magistrates Court show.
The detective constable driving the unmarked BMW X5 had to speed up to attempt to catch up with Rashford's car, with the patrol car travelling at speeds of "no less than 104mph" for around 1.6km.
But the officer reported the gap between the two cars continued to grow, the court was told.
Rashford left the motorway at junction 3 onto the A34 towards Wilmslow, Cheshire, and the detective constable continued to follow the Rolls-Royce.
The officer conducted checks over the police radio and spotted "a change in the defendant's driving" with the car slowing down, coming off and then re-joining the A34, the court was told.
The Rolls-Royce stopped and the officer activated his blue lights before speaking to Rashford, who confirmed his name and date of birth.
The footballer, who owns a fleet of luxury cars, told the officer he believed he was being followed "by a white vehicle at the lights".
The court was also told when the officer said he should have called the police if he suspected he was being followed, he said Rashford told him "it happens all the time and he would be calling us every day".
The officer, based at GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said in a statement to the court: "Rashford said that the reason he was speeding was because he was being followed by a white vehicle and asked if I had seen it at the lights. He also said he thought that I was the white vehicle following him.
"I said I had not and would review the video footage from the vehicle. I also told him he needs to call 999 if he feels he is being followed, he said it happens all the time and that he would be calling us every day. I then told him to slow down, and he went on his way whilst I reviewed the footage.
"On reviewing the footage due the duration from when he overtook me up until stopping him on Eden Park Road, I have not seen any evidence of a white vehicle following him.
"I also noted that on realising he was being followed he has slowed down and his speed was within 5mph of the speed limit."
Rashford appeared in court on 18 July via videolink.
District Judge Lucy Hogarth banned him from driving for six months and fined him £1,666.
He was also ordered to pay a £666 victim surcharge and £120 in court costs after he had earlier pleaded guilty to a single speeding offence.
The speeding incident came three months after he was left unhurt after crashing another Rolls Royce in September 2023.
Manchester United players had returned to their Carrington training base on the team bus following their Premier League victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.
After collecting their own cars and setting off for home, Rashford - in one of his £700,000 Rolls-Royce cars - was involved in a collision with another car.
Emergency services attended the scene, but Rashford did not require medical attention and no arrests were made.
Rashford was not included in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad after enduring a difficult season, scoring just eight times for United in all competitions.
Awarded an MBE in 2021 for his charity work, Rashford recently said he is planning to take some time to reset mentally after acknowledging he has endured a “challenging season”.
He thanked fans for their support, telling his seven million followers on X, formerly Twitter, he would be coming off social media to “rest and reset”.
Rashford owns several Rolls-Royce cars, including a £390,000 Black Badge Cullinan and a Cullinan Blue Shadow.
He also reportedly owns a £280,000 McLaren 765 Long Tail and a £350,000 Lamborghini Urus Performante.