Raheem Sterling. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Ben Sutherland
Raheem Sterling has developed into one of the best forwards in world football under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The England international is thought to be valued at around £200 million in the current market, however, it is unlikely that the Premier League side will want to cash in on their star any time soon. Sterling has already netted 20 times this season in all competitions. He looks set for his best-ever tally since turning professional in 2012.
Guardiola has a catalogue of stars at his disposal at Manchester City and likes to rotate his players throughout the season to keep them fresh. Sterling is the one player who seems to escape that system, a sign of how important he is to his manager in the team.
It has not been a great season for City in their defense of their Premier League title. They are now out to +2800 in the Premier League betting which is topped by Liverpool. The Englishman, though, is sure to be up for individual honors at the end of the campaign. Sterling is going to be a key player for England manager Gareth Southgate at Euro 2020 this summer. Wembley Stadium in London will host the two semi-finals and final of that competition, therefore, they are one of the front-runners in the tournament. The Manchester City player scored his first hat-trick for his national team last March in a 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic at Wembley. He has also consistently performed well for the Three Lions over the last months.
Sterling not afraid to stand up to racism: Sterling has been subject to racism on the field a number of times for club and country over the last couple of years. One of those occasions was while playing for England against Bulgaria in a Euro 2020 qualifier back in October. The referee paused the game in the 28th minute in order for the stadium announcer to appeal to the crowd to stop the racist gestures and chants some of them were making.
Bulgaria were ordered to play one game behind closed doors and were handed a fine by UEFA for the way the crowd behaved in that tie against England. Sterling was the face of the No Room For Racism campaign in 2019, where he was involved in a video the Premier League broadcast in an attempt to tackle racism in the sport.
The Manchester City forward has been praised for the work he has been doing to try and eradicate racism. He was on the shortlist for the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, while he received the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards 2019 Sportsman of the Year.
With so much work still to be done in football to eradicate racism, football is lucky to have players like Sterling who are able to use their position to speak out. Sterling is also a great role model for black kids who wish to have a career in football in the future.
