Raheem can beat sick trolls

Argentina star Angel Di Maria has urged Raheem Sterling to seek counselling amid the turmoil over his gun tattoo.

And he insists there is no shame in the England star seeking expert help to cope with the abuse he is facing.

Former Manchester United winger Di Maria was the target of a witch hunt in his homeland for his performances in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers.

He even thought about packing in his cap career.

So he is full of sympathy for Man City ace Sterling who has been pilloried in the press and online for his M16 inking he claims is a tribute to his murdered father.

Di Maria, now at PSG, poured scorn on the online t rol ls and said : “The criticisms and memes that people make may seem like they don’t hurt you – but they hurt a lot.

“They were saying things that made me even think about leaving the team.

“The psychologist helped me a lot. He helped me to talk, helped me to process the problem and helped me to understand these things.

“I realised that it is easy for a person with a telephone or who is sitting behind a computer to criticise.

“The therapy helped me greatly, my head is fine now and I feel good.

“There is nothing wrong with getting psychological help. It can be necessary. I needed it. It is dif f icult sometimes when they criticise you from all sides.”

Di Maria’s Argentinian t e am- mate Gonz a lo Higuain also has faced the brunt of vitriolic criticism and it got so bad it affected the health of his mother.

Juventus striker Higuain also threatened to quit footbal l in the wake of Argentina’s World Cup Final defeat by Germany.

He sa id : “My mum suffered most. Criticism does not affect me but if it was down to me I would have left. I love football but I love my mum more.”