There's always been a stigma around Raheem Sterling. Plenty of critics believe the 27-year-old is unable to finish his chances in front of goal. His scoring record for Manchester City suggests that isn't the case, but he has missed plenty of big chances in the past – and even he has admitted that.
Speaking to Thierry Henry for Sky Sports over four years ago, Sterling – who is on the verge of signing for Chelsea for a total of £55million (£45m plus add-ons) – said that he sometimes struggles when he has "too much time" to think about what he is going to do. Instead, he prefers it when the situation calls on him to be more instinctive.
"Forget what everybody says, I know what I want to do and what I need to improve on," Sterling said. "Nobody needs to tell me. Of course, people see it and my problem is that when I have too much time to think that's when I mess up a lot. If it's more instinctive with less time to think I am much better.
