Fans are finally seeing the sharp-minded & sharp-moving Sterling

RAHEEM STERLING is talking about turning points, when things changed for him on and off the pitch.

When people got a better understanding of what he is about, not just as a footballer, but the personality which has seen him become one of the most important people in the country.

Sterling is sharp, funny, self-deprecating and always has been. It is just now we are seeing what he is really like.

He laughs off the idea of being a role model, even though he knows it makes his mum proud.

There is also the turning point of when it changed for him as a player.

When he stopped worrying about what people were saying about him and began to realise his full potential.

“I think it was when City started to buy wingers,” he joked. “I went back to northwest London to see my friend, and he said, ‘They’ve just bought Bernardo Silva’. He was worried for me.

“And I was saying, ‘That’s sick, man’. He was really surprised, but I thought it was good – competition brings out the best in me.

“It was a massive turning point when the wingers came in to push me.

“At the time, it was only me and Leroy Sane, and I just knew it would push me again to do better because I knew there was someone else there.

“It’s not about ego, it’s about raising your game to help the team.”

Two titles and two League Cups later, Sterling (with Bernardo Silva, right) is now eyeing the Treble, if Manchester City can win the FA Cup tomorrow. But he has also taken his game to another level in those two seasons, both for club and country.

And that is at the heart of his personality. Sterling loves a challenge, changing perceptions, and making the very best use of his platform as a footballer. Now it is not just football fans that look up to him, but a whole generation.

He made us all think with an Instagram post about racism, his voice has been heard, and next week he will give a talk in New York about the issues. He has also set up his own YouTube channel to give people even more of a flavour of what he is about.

“In interviews, you can come across as boring, not wanting to talk, but I try to come across and give as much as I can, so people can see the exact me,” said Sterling, 24.

“I’m no different from me talking to you here than when I’m talking to my family. That’s why I built a YouTube channel

I’m called a role model and I don’t see myself as that.. but it makes my mum so proud

and give the real insight into the real Raheem. “People have judged me on the image of before and that wasn’t me.

“But my channel gives an insight into my life. A lot of players don’t want to give too much of themselves away, but actually I think it’s good to give insight because people will take to you more.

“I don’t want them just to see me as ‘Raheem Sterling plays for Manchester City’. I want them to see Raheem Sterling in full flow, having banter and a laugh. I want them to see if I’ve got good jokes or not.”

But Sterling is still not sure about being a role model.

“People keep saying that,” he said. “I don’t want to say ‘role model’ because I don’t see myself as one. It gives my mum pride, I’ll tell you that. I don’t think I’ve changed anything, but I’ve opened up a door for work to be done.

“That’s what I love about this country. People are always listening, people want to do the right thing, and I definitely see it as something that has gone positively.”

Sterling spent much of his childhood growing up in Wembley and would ride his bike past the stadium, hearing the noise from the crowd on match days. But he never went to a game until the 2007 cup final when his school gave out free tickets to pupils.

That was his motivation behind buying 550 tickets for his old school for the semifinal. He loves going to the stadium, still goes back to see his school friends, and has never lost that connection.

“I was at the final in 2007,” he added. “When I was young, I was a massive United fan. And to be in the stadium... it was incredible.

“Giving the tickets to the school was motivated by that, being so close to the stadium and not going there more than once. If two or three of the kids could be inspired, then that’s all I was trying to do.

“Hopefully that will give them motivation.”