Shaun Wright-Phillips is well placed to make a judgement on Sterling’s progression and he thinks the City and England star is going from strength to strength as both a footballer and a man.
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“I know Raheem well enough and when I see him, we speak to each other, but I think that the things he is doing on and off the pitch now are outstanding,” said Wright-Phillips who made 275 appearances over two separate periods for City, scoring 47 goals.
“Every hurdle that has been front of him he’s taken in his stride and he’s become the perfect role model and shut all his critics up by doing what he does on the pitch and by scoring goals.
“He’s taken everything on the chin, handled it in the right way and just got on with it and I take my hat off him because everything he’s had to put up with, he has, and now he’s gone to another level.”
And SWP, who won 36 England caps, thinks another City winger – Leroy Sane – has the world at his feet.
“I love watching Sane – he’s got so many great years ahead of him and every time I see him play, I think he gets better and better so for me, I think he can reach whatever height he wants to.
“I don’t say this lightly, but I feel he has the potential to be as good as Lionel Messi. He creates goals, he scores goals and he entertain the crowd and, on his day, he’s unstoppable.
“I think so long as his focus is right and he works hard, I don’t see why can’t go all the way to the top.”
SWP, who was in town for Wednesday’s clash with Spurs, is hoping the Blues can quickly dust themselves off with two huge Premier League matches on the horizon.
“I think winning against Spurs and United will set us up for the final three games,” he said.
“Losing to Spurs could put a spanner in the works, but I don’t think it will. With the games coming thick and fast, there’s no time to dwell on what happened on Wednesday and we just need to get keep doing what we’ve been doing all season.”
