Former Manchester United defender Brandon Williams has opened up about the high-speed car crash three years ago that led to his 14-month suspended prison sentence. The 25-year-old academy product spoke about the incident after falling out of favour at Old Trafford.
In May 2025, Williams was handed a 14-month sentence, suspended for two years, following a conviction for dangerous driving. He was driving erratically in his Audi A3 on August 20, 2023, before hitting a Ford Fiesta and careering into the central reservation of the A34 in Cheshire. The defender was once paid £3.4million a year as a promising young player.
Speaking to The Athletic, Williams explained how the crash changed his outlook. "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 said. "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 details regarding his use of nitrous oxide, also known as balloons or laughing gas. Williams had a balloon in his mouth at the time of the smash, though he was not under the influence of the drug during the collision, while admitting to past use.
"I look back at myself now and think what an idiot I was," Williams said. "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."
Rise and Fall at Old Trafford
Williams initially broke into the Manchester United first team under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after making his senior debut in September 2019. He went on to play 51 times for the club after being tipped for a bright future in the academy.
However, his career at United faltered under Erik ten Hag as his life away from the pitch began to spiral. Williams had loan spells at Norwich and Ipswich before Manchester United released him. He did not play a professional match for 20 months before signing for Hull in August last year, 14 months after his release.
His move to the Tigers did not work out, and he left by mutual consent in February after making just one substitute appearance. Williams has also faced significant injury troubles in recent seasons.
Trial at Rotherham United
Now determined to get his career back on track, Williams is training with League Two side Rotherham this summer as he waits to find out if the club will offer him a deal. "I've let a lot of people down, to be honest, and I want to prove a lot of people wrong as well," Williams said. "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 managed by Alex Bruce, son of veteran manager Steve Bruce. The club's Head of Football is Steve McClaren, who previously served as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson and later Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. Williams featured in Rotherham's pre-season friendly against Parkgate on Friday night.
Speaking after the friendly against Parkgate, Alex Bruce told the Rotherham Advertiser why Williams was training with the team. "Brandon has a good pedigree," Bruce said. "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."
Bruce noted that Williams has not had a proper pre-season for two or three years and has dealt with several injury problems. "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," Bruce said, adding that the team hopes to battle for promotion straight back to League One.
Asked if Williams could be part of the club's long-term plans, 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."
