Brandon Williams: Why former Manchester United star faces up to two years in prison

Brandon Williams in action against Burnly. Photo. Imago

Brandon Williams: Why former Manchester United star faces up to two years in prison

Evans Ousuru 08:00 - 31.03.2025

Former Manchester United academy graduate Brandon Williams faces an oblique future in the wake possibility of serving two years in jail.

Footballer Brandon Williams posted pictures on social media showing him aboard a private jet on exotic holidays and with expensive cars in a show of lining the high life.

The former Manchester United academy graduate whose love for hip-hop music  led him to be nicknamed ‘B Dubz’ by friends, could soon swap privilege for a prison cell when he is sentenced for crashing his car at 99mph – having been filmed moments earlier ‘with a balloon in his mouth’ while out driving with a young female as reported by the Daily Mail.

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This represents a fall from grace for a player once hailed for his fearless performances on the pitch and being as brave as a lion.

Prosecutors said it was fortunate nobody was seriously injured or killed in the crash on the A34 in Cheshire in August 2023. At a hearing before Chester Crown Court on March 14, Williams, now 24, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, which carries a maximum punishment of two years in jail.

His sentencing on May 9 will come almost 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.

Williams reportedly acquired a new agent, Rob Segal, who has represented the footballer’s former teammate Marcus Rashford, and more recent social media posts show him now back in the gym.

The combative footballer is understood to have started boxing training to further boost his fitness, with a view to finding a new club. But his plans may have to be revised if he receives anything close to the maximum sentence.

To make matters worse, Williams already has a chequered driving history, amassing 30 penalty points. 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.

Williams himself hinted at what went wrong for him in a recent YouTube interview, when he talked of the difficulties of coming from Manchester’s tough Harpurhey estate to represent the city’s most successful club.

Williams’ family is so grounded that his mother Lisa Wood still runs a cafe, Snack Attack, on Harpurhey market – where her son occasionally used to help her in his spare time.