Rio Ferdinand has admitted he can’t understand why there are critics of former Manchester City ace Raheem Sterling.
The England winger was unveiled as a Chelsea player on Wednesday after securing a £47.5m move from the Etihad. Sterling will go down as a City hero after helping the club win four Premier League titles.
The attacker managed to bag double figures in every season for City, scoring a career-high 31 goals in the 2019/20 campaign. However, he decided to make a switch amid declining game time over the last three years under Pep Guardiola.
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Several onlookers still have questions over whether Sterling can be regarded as world class, but Ferdinand is not having any of it. Speaking on YouTube show FIVE, he said: “You know what it does my head in? When there’s a split opinion about him (Sterling) and I don’t understand it.
“From a team point of view, he made the right decision 100 per cent going to Man City when he did. Integral in what they’ve done.
“He’s been the Football Writers' Player of the Year, PFA Team of the Year, he’s been Young Player of the Year, he’s done all he can in a Man City shirt, all he hasn’t done is win a Champions League. But no one at Man City’s done that so that’s just the way it is.”
He added: “We can talk about his skill, we can talk about his pace, we can talk about his goals, achievements, but has there been an English player that’s had the success he’s had and still been questioned?
“It takes you back to the John Barnes day when he was flying and was still ridiculed and still talked about like ‘he’s not good enough for this, not good enough for England, doesn’t quite do it here’. Raheem Sterling, people always seem to find a way to tear him down.
“Under Pep Guardiola he has the most appearances, he has the second-most amount of goals - let that sink in and marinate a little bit. ‘He should score more, he doesn’t score goals’, what do you mean? He goes and does it.”
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