Ross Barkley ‘hires driver for 12 months’ as Chelsea star ‘faces driving ban’
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley is reportedly facing a driving ban after being caught using his mobile phone at the wheel.
According to The Sun, Barkley, 28, was spotted using the device at the wheel of his £150,000 Mercedes-AMG in Wandsworth, South West London last July.
It is alleged that this is not the star's first driving conviction and that he has entered a guilty plea to a charge of using a handheld mobile phone while driving a vehicle.
He will now appear before Bromley magistrates’ court next month after earning enough points to face a ban.
Barkley, who earns £84,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge, is also understood to have hired a driver for the next 12 months.
"He’s worried a ban is coming,” a source told The Sun. "A driver has been brought in to help.
"He loves the vehicle so he’ll be gutted – but he’s had plenty of warnings over the years and he’s now totted up enough points for a ban.
"Even someone on his wage would find a driving ban incredibly annoying.
"He could certainly do without it, although any fine and costs isn’t going to set him back too much on his wages."
Barkley joined the west Londoners in 2018 after the club forked out £15million to sign him from boyhood club Everton.
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He has made 98 appearances for the Blues but has never been able to hold down a consistent first-team place.
Never has that been more evident than this season, with the star falling well down the pecking order at Chelsea.
Despite the club's Covid issues in December, Barkley has only managed to clock up 151 minutes of Premier League football this term.
The former Aston Villa loanee was included in the Blues squad which travelled to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup, but he didn't get off the bench as Thomas Tuchel's side won the competition.
However, the German boss has insisted that the door isn't closed for Barkley at Stamford Bridge.
"There’s always a chance – it is not like it is the FA Cup and here’s your chance," Tuchel said before Barkley came off the bench in the 5-1 FA Cup third-round victory over Chesterfield last month.
"There’s always a chance to make it onto the pitch, especially with a lot of Covid and injury cases.
"The situation has not changed – not for Ross, not for anybody else."
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