Raheem Sterling's journey to the top is nothing short of AMAZING

Raheem Sterling was given so much stick in 2015 for moving to high-flying Manchester City from Liverpool who were struggling to compete for the top 4. When Van Dijk recently moved from Southampton to Liverpool, the same fans who gave Sterling so much stick called it ambition. The hypocrisy doesn’t stop with the Liverpool fanbase but it extends to the red half of Manchester who happen to be the direct rivals of Man City. Sterling was branded a “Snake” by the global fans of the two clubs. The young winger was booed throughout England even though he never showed any lack of respect to those clubs or the individuals involved. He was a young player who paid the price for being ambitious.

When City failed to win for two consecutive seasons, he became the subject of scrutiny. The English press was happy to make him the scapegoat for the collective failure of the team. Even though Pep Guardiola clearly said he trusted the young English winger, the press constantly linked him with moves to other clubs to unsettle him but nothing distracted Raheem.

Training with Guardiola and picking on the Catalan’s extensive footballing knowledge helped Sterling to take his game to the next level. He went on to improve his finishing which used to be his Achilles’ heel. Sterling has scored 24 goals and 13 assists this season, which is more than any player playing his trade in England. Sterling’s latest exploits were on international duty when he scored a hat-trick against Czech Republic.

Off the field, Sterling has stood up for the black players and exposed the double standards of the British press. Sterling posted a photo that clearly exposed the racism in the media and how they portrayed two young city players – one black player and one white player buying a house for their mothers. The article referred to Adarabioyo, who is black, as having spent 2.25 million pounds ($2.86 million) on a house despite having never started a Premier League match. In a similar situation, another article on Foden says he bought a 2 million pound home for his mum.

During the World cup in Russia, the British tabloids targeted Sterling for his tattoo of an assault rifle on his leg even though he clarified it was a tribute to his father who was murdered when the footballer was just two. Recently, the pacey Man City winger was the subject of racist abuse by Chelsea fans in December, 2018.

On the field, his performances have made him one of the favourites for the Premier League Player of the Year candidate along with Sergio Aguero and Virgil Van Dijk. Off the field, the winger is fighting racism that still plagues football. What makes Sterling special is his ability to stay grounded and put in the hard work week-in and week-out knowing there are people who want him to fail BUT there are greater legions of Man City followers who want him to succeed.

England Manager Gareth Southgate said “We’ve had three or four players captaining the team, and Raheem is developing lots of the qualities those guys have. He has those qualities. It’s difficult to talk about a potential captain when the captain (Harry Kane) is in the hotel waiting to go out for dinner, but in terms of his personal qualities, he’s shown some outstanding personal qualities”.

Under Pep Guardiola, he is probably the most improved player and his traits as a player and a human being should make him deserving of the captain’s armband for both Man City and England. Manchester City should hold on to the amazing Winger to replace the likes of Pabo Zabaleta who wholeheartedly cared about the community. Sterling has made it to the top against all odds and is totally deserving of all the accolades he is getting as long as he keeps his foot grounded.

Editorial Team

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LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.