Ferdinand: Raheem can be a threat in Russia

RIO Ferdinand has backed Raheem Sterling to shrug off the criticism aimed at him.

A gun tattoo on Sterling’s right leg became the subject of national debate over the past week

But Ferdinand believes the player is peaking at the right time and could be key for England at the World Cup.

“There is always going to be one scapegoat and people then pick out that scapegoat and abuse him,” he said.

“What I love about Raheem is that he has thick skin. He’s a hard worker. He’s someone who wants to do well and he’s a learner.

“And I think we’ve seen that this year. He’s been educated by Pep Guardiola, he’s taken it all on board and we’re seeing the player that we all believed he could be.

“He had more talent and more ability and he’s being pushed and coached in the right way and he’s flourishing.

“Becks had it once, Phil Neville had it. Things happen in a tournament and it just triggers people into saying, ‘He’s the guy’. Raheem’s stats and his game this year speak for themselves. But can he transfer that into an England shirt?

“And we’ve had problems down the years, different players not doing that. John Barnes was a player who couldn’t do that, who got stick. Chris Waddle got stick for stuff like that.

“I think in my era Michael Owen and Becks are probably the only players who did as well if not better in an England shirt than they did in their club team.”