Paul Ince has been banned from driving for 12 months and fined more than £7000 after pleading guilty to drink driving.
The 57-year-old former England captain was arrested after a black Range Rover smashed into a central reservation in Cheshire last month.
The crash happened near Heswall Golf Club - a location where Ince has previously posted pictures from on Instagram.
Chester Magistrates' Court heard how Ince had a reading of 49 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when he was stopped by police after driving on Chester High Road.
He was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £5,000 and ordered to pay a £2,000 statutory surcharge and £85 costs.
Nigel Jones, prosecuting, said: 'On the day in question, the defendant was witnessed by an off-duty police officer driving a vehicle perceived to be swerving across the road.'
He said the car swerved across the central reservation, hitting bollards and causing two tyres to burst.
Paul Ince has been banned from driving for 12 months and fined more than £7000 after pleading guilty to drink driving
Paul Ince takes a selfie with a fan as he arrives at Chester Magistrates' Court charged with drink driving
Ince smiled for the cameras as he turned up at Chester Magistrates' Court this morning
The car then pulled into a petrol station where police officers attended.
Frank Rogers, defending, said: 'My client finds himself today facing the huge impact of a ban, but he accepts he only has himself to blame for that.
'He misjudged the fact he believed at the time he would be under the limit.'
Mr Rogers said Ince had been at Heswall Golf Club for a competition and had not eaten before having two drinks in the clubhouse.
He said: 'He felt fine to drive, of course we now know that he shouldn't have done.'
He said that as he was driving home, Ince approached a roundabout at about 20mph when his phone slipped and he instinctively reached for it and veered the car, clipping the kerb.
He said: 'The vehicle didn't collide with the bollards. He's clipped both sides of the island, damaging tyres.'
He said an alert came up on the car about the tyre pressure and Ince pulled into a garage where he inspected the damage, called his wife and was about to call the Range Rover assist helpline when police arrived.
Mr Rogers said Ince had been driving for 39 years and had three points on his licence.
District Judge Jack McGarva during sentencing told Ince: 'The message has got to be if you're going to drive you don't drink at all.'
Paul Ince and Ian wright pose together in 1998 as part of the England football team
Paul Ince gestures toward the crowd after his goal during the FA Carling Premiership match against Manchester United in 1999
Arriving at court, he was pictured signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans, before being collected by a friend in a black Porsche and quickly whisked away afterwards.
At the time of the incident a spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: 'At around 5pm on Saturday 28 June, police were called following reports of a collision on Chester High Road, Neston.
'The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier.
'Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man.'
Ince, a former Manchester United, Liverpool and West Ham star, was the first black man to captain England.
He won 53 caps for his country and is perhaps best remembered for his starring role in a dogged goalless draw with Italy which sent Glenn Hoddle's side to the 1998 World Cup.
Ince came through the ranks at the Hammers before a then big-money move to United in 1989.
After spending six, trophy-laden years at Old Trafford, he was transferred to Inter Milan before returning to England to play for United's rivals, Liverpool.
Further stints at Middlesbrough and Wolves followed before Ince brought the curtain down on a playing career which saw him win two Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a League Cup, among other silverware.
After successful spells in charge of Macclesfield and MK Dons, he went on to manager clubs including Blackburn Rovers, Notts County and Blackpool.
His last role was as manager of Reading, a post he left in 2023.
