A former Newcastle United winger who earned millions during his time at St James' Park has claimed to be now on £22,000 a year after pleading guilty to a hit and run.

Sammy Ameobi admitted to the offence at Chester Magistrates Court - explaining he was in a "panic" to make it to his £360-a-week apprenticeship when the incident transpired.

The former multi-millionaire had earned an estimated £6.4m during his 11-year career, which saw him make 264 appearances for teams across the top three leagues in English football. The ex-England u21 international retired in 2022, aged 30.

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Ameobi, who made 70 appearances for the Toon Army senior team during his seven year spell, told the magistrates court he had crashed his Audi E-Tron car into a teenager's Citroen C1 during morning rush hour before fleeing the scene.

When quizzed, the former Premier League footballer revealed he was in a "panic" because he had just started a new job as an apprentice earning £22,000 a year, reports the Manchester Evening News.

His current stated wage means that the 32-year-old is now earning around 26 times less than his average wage as a professional footballer.

Sammy Ameobi started with the youth academy of Newcastle United in 2008 and joined the senior team in 2011 - eventually joining Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest on loan during his time with the Toon before signing for Bolton on a free transfer in 2017.

As well as representing England at the international youth level, Ameobi also appeared for Nigeria's U20s twice and eventually committed to the Nigerian senior national team.

His brothers Shola and Tomi also featured for Newcastle, with the latter only playing in the youth set-up. Older brother Shola Ameobi made 312 league outings for the club with a 53 goal return.

In August 2013, the pair were the first brothers in Newcastle's history to score in the same game during a 2-0 win over Morecambe in the League Cup.

Pleading guilty to the hit and run

The hit and run took place on November 12 and left a 19-year-old woman in A&E and her car written off after being propelled into the path of oncoming traffic.

Representing himself in court, Ameobi said: “Obviously, what I did was wrong. I understand that. It was completely out of character. I panicked at that moment, to be honest with you.

“I am not trying to make excuses for it. My wife and I were in the hospital with my son the night before. He had choked on medication he had for eczema. I did not get any sleep. I had started an apprenticeship after quite a long time out of work with health issues and stuff like that. I was rushing to get to work and worried about my son."

Ameobi's electric 4x4 had a personalised number plate inscribed SAMM11Y. The 32-year-old told the court he had forgotten to inform his insurance company of the registration change, which had happened years before and was not insured.

He said: "I just panicked at that moment. That is all that was. With the vehicle insurance incident that was completely my fault. I have all the insurance documents with me. I have had a private registration for years and years. It was something of a sentimental thing.

“I completely forgot to inform the insurance company of the change. It was not until I received the court summons on January 6 that I saw the second charge. I did not realise I was not insured. That is when I got it sorted.”

Ameobi, of Northwich, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident and having no insurance and was fined £240, with £181 in costs and a victim surcharge.

His licence was endorsed with six penalty points.