Raheem Sterling is misunderstood and has frequently been misrepresented but the Manchester City winger has not helped himself this week. Most of the negative publicity the 24-year-old has endured throughout his career has been undeserved. His fit of petulance and scuffle with Joe Gomez when the England squad gathered at St George’s Park was a self-inflicted wound.
Spats between team-mates at club and international level are not unusual. Bruised egos will heal. The scars Sterling carries from his time at Anfield may never.
Sterling was disappointed by City’s 3-1 defeat by Liverpool on Sunday and left Merseyside with a sense of grievance. Not only did Pep Guardiola and his team feel that refereeing decisions had gone against them and in the home side’s favour, but Sterling was relentlessly booed and subjected to chants of “one greedy b*****d.” The Kop feel scorned because their former player departed for the Etihad four years ago. No fans enjoy seeing the return of a man who left in rancorous circumstances but it was hardly greed that drove Sterling away from Merseyside.
The England forward was brought to Anfield from Queens Park Rangers’ academy at the age of 15 and his first two years at the club were a generally positive experience. Things changed when Brendan Rodgers took over in 2012. The Northern Irishman managed to make a mess of his first summer transfer window and left himself short of attacking players. Sterling, at just 17, was drafted in to play in the first team more often than had been anticipated. He made 24 Premier League appearances during the campaign and was treated like a fully-fledged member of the squad. Except in one area: renumeration.
How bad was the disparity? The youngster was being paid in the region of £35,000 per week. In his European debut, a Europa League qualifying match against Gomel in Belarus, he replaced Joe Cole, whose contract was worth £140,000 per week. Another option on the wing for Rodgers was Stewart Downing, who played five more league games than Sterling. Downing was pocketing more than twice the salary.
Read the full story Click Here