Sterling: I owe it all to my big sis
HIS live-wire running, dribbling and predatory finishing have been pivotal to England’s historic run to the Euro 2020 final.
Yet for all his footballing brilliance, Raheem Sterling insists he owes everything to his big sister.
The Three Lions star has spoken lovingly about how his sibling Lakima, 30, devoted endless hours to him while he embarked upon his journey to the top and their mother worked tirelessly.
Sterling, 26, says that his stepsister ‘sacrificed her life’ in order for him to succeed and that he would have been nothing without her. In return, he said that his ‘whole mission’ as a young hopeful was to sign a professional football contract so that Lakima and his mother, Nadine Clarke, would not have to worry financially.
On an incredible £300,000 a week at Manchester City, those worries are certainly gone forever. But England’s star of the tournament has overcome more adversity than most, including losing his father when he was two years old – he was shot dead after being caught up in a gang turf war in Jamaica. In a 2018 article, the footballer described the hardship of his younger years as his mother worked around the clock as a cleaner to fund a degree course.
He revealed how he and Lakima even pitched in by cleaning toilets. Sterling also described how Lakima would often take eight hours out of her day to accompany him to training at the Queens Park Rangers ground, located far from the family home.
After moves to Liverpool then Manchester City, Sterling filmed himself in 2018 surprising his loyal sister and paying her back – by buying a house for her 27th birthday.