Ian Wright opens up on terrifying car crash on way to film MOTD – 'I nearly died'

Even football pundits aren’t immune to life’s sharp turns, as Ian Wright’s harrowing brush with fate proved. The Arsenal legend faced a chilling incident in February 2022 when he was involved in a terrifying car crash while en route to film Match of the Day.

Wright vividly recounted his close shave with disaster after heavy rain led to his car skidding and losing control. In a candid exchange with Roy Keane on The Overlap, Wright gave an impression of his genuine fear: “We had terrible rain on the motorway, we had to slow down! Two years ago, I nearly died! In the same kind of weather. I’m petrified when it starts raining.”

Although met with scepticism from the Manchester United icon, the retired footballer insisted on the severity of the incident: “So we’re driving and [the driver] hit the brakes. He must be doing 60 or 70 [miles per hour] – the car’s aquaplaned, it’s hit the central reservation, spun around and we’re facing that way [into oncoming traffic]. That’s enough to frighten ya.”

Football fans were shocked upon hearing about Wright’s accident at the time, yet the ex-Premier League poacher didn’t let the scare interfere with his work duties. Shaking off the encounter, Wright continued on his journey to Manchester and arrived in time to present that evening’s broadcast without further issue.

“Not a straightforward trip up for @BBCMOTD!” he posted on social media at the time. “Thankfully nobody was hurt. Be careful out there, lots of water on the road. Thank you to my amazing driver Jay and the brilliant emergency services. See you tonight.”

Photos of the wreckage certainly looked convincing enough, though Wright maintained his usual upbeat manner. The veteran has since stepped away from his duties on Match of the Day, though he continues to appear on Sky coverage – much to the joy of British viewers.

Despite his retelling, however, Keane remained reluctant to accept Wright’s claims and assured his colleague his airbags would have saved him. Wright responded by telling the United great there were no airbags in the back of the car, and Keane jested his old opponent was probably “watching The Godfather for the 50th time.”