Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding at 72mph in a 30mph zone near a school. The 20-year-old French centre-back was driving his £170,000 Porsche Cayenne GTS on Mauldeth Road West in Withington, south Manchester, on 28 August last year when a camera recorded him travelling at more than double the limit.
At Crewe Magistrates' Court on Saturday, Yoro was also fined £666 and ordered to pay £120 in costs and a £266 victim surcharge. The court heard that the road was lined with homes, a secondary school, and a sports club at the time of the offence, which occurred just after 4pm.
Yoro's lawyer, Lisa Nevitt of Burton Copeland, submitted a letter to the court highlighting his 'prompt guilty plea' and stating that he 'would not seek to argue that he should not be disqualified'. The letter explained that Yoro was 'rushing to take a friend to the railway station' and believed the road was 'broad' with 'little prospect of being any contact with any vulnerable road users such as pedestrians'.
Yoro, who joined Manchester United in July 2024 for a reported £52.2m fee, was initially charged with speeding and failing to identify the driver after letters sent to his Cheshire home went unanswered. With the assistance of a Manchester United official, he pleaded guilty online to both charges, but the police withdrew the second allegation, sparing him a further conviction.
The case was dealt with under the single justice procedure, meaning Yoro did not appear in court. Magistrate Sunjeep Bhalla convicted and sentenced him based on written evidence alone. Yoro has made 23 appearances for Manchester United this season.
