Raheem Shaquille Sterling was born in Kingston, Jamaica on December 8, 1994. His absent father was murdered when he was 2 years old, and his mother assumed the role of both the father and mother to raise her son. Jamaica's murder rates are very high and it is a violent country, so Raheem's father's death was not unusual. He became obsessed with soccer and played outside all day until he heard gunshots, "a sign that riots were again set to rip through the neighborhood"2

At the age of five he moved to London to try to have a better life there. He attended Copland School during his time in London. He had to switch schools due to issues with his behavior and one of his teachers told him that "If you carry on the way you're going, by the time you're 17 you'll either be playing for England or you'll be in prison."3 He played for Queens Park Rangers FC in London.

He signed for Liverpool for a value of 600,000 Euros in 2010. His first match for Liverpool was against Aston Villa. On the 14th of February in 2011 he scored 5 goals against Southend United, and Liverpool's seniors took notice of his soccer skills.

After he made the Senior Liverpool team, he played his first game on the 24th of March in 2012 at the age of 17 against Wigan Athletic. He scored his first Senior goal against Bayer Leverkusen on August 12th in a Friendly. In November 14th, 2012 at 17, he began his international senior career for England at 17 years of age. His only child was also born in 2012.

On the 13th of April 2014, he scored a brace (2 goals) and an assist against Norwich. At the end of the 2013/2014 season he was named Liverpool's best young player of the year for his talent and ability.

Then, on the 20th of December 2014, he won the Golden Boy award, given to the world's best young player. "It's down to hard work" he said as he received the award, "I'm really happy that people are recognizing that I'm trying to work hard and do my best for this football club. I'm really grateful for this award."1

On the 20th of January he scored a great solo goal vs Chelsea and began scoring multiple goals in numerous consecutive matches. On March 27, 2015, he scored his first goal for England against Lithuania. For the second consecutive year he was named Liverpool's young player of the season

On the 12 of July 2015, Sterling agreed to a deal with Manchester city. His debut was the 10th of August and 19 days later he scored his first goal. He scored a Hat-Trick for Manchester in a 5-1 victory over Bournemouth on October 17, 2 months after his first game. He scored an impressive 11 goals and 10 assists until a groin injury versus Manchester United hindered his dazzling season for 8 weeks.

After a period of decline he was named the 2016 Player of the Month for August after two goals and an assist in 3 games. On the 16th of December 2017, he was attacked by a man who used racist language. The man was later put in prison. And best of all, In the 2017/2018 season he scored 18 goals in the Premier League, his most ever at that point, and he won the Premier League.

In November 2018 he signed a new contract with City for 3 years. He helped his team again by scoring the winning penalty in the Carabao Cup in England. He scored a hat-trick in 12 minutes against Watford in the Premier League and a hat-trick and an assist against The Czech Republic on the 27th of March 2019. After a heartbreaking World Cup he scored 6 times and assisted twice in five games.

Finally, in 2019 he was voted the FWA Premier League Footballer of the Year. This wasn't an accident. In the 2018/2019 season, Raheem Sterling has created .88 of a Goal (assist or goal) every match and scores .52 of a goal and .36 of an assist every game this season. In the Champions League, he has scored in every other game. This season he has 4 games with more than one goal. Sterling has 23.3% of Manchester City's direct goal involvement and he has created 66 chances in the Premier League, second only to Eden Hazard. He is also successful on 85% of his passes.

Raheem Sterling plays as a Left Forward Winger. He has a high pace and due to to his size (5,7) he is good at dribbling and quick turns, similar to Lionel Messi. He is religious and says he is a Christian. He is small but strong and physical too. He has been racially abused and speaks out against racism. He has won many awards in his life, including the 2014 Golden Boy Award.

In his career, Raheem Sterling has scored 100 times and assisted 100 times in 342 games. Raheem Sterling has also scored 8 times in 49 appearances for England. I think Raheem sterling is a great player for his attitude, playing style, belief, origin story and his actions. He is definitely a player to remember and someone for English soccer players to look up to.

Sources

1. "Manchester City 0-0 Leicester." FcTables, www.fctables.com/players/raheem_sterling-301881/.

2. "Raheem Sterling - Detailed Stats." Transfermarkt, www.transfermarkt.co.uk/raheem-sterling/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/134425/wettbewerb/GB1/saison/2018.

3. "Raheem Sterling - Stats 18/19 (Detailed View)." Transfermarkt, www.transfermarkt.us/raheem-sterling/leistungsdaten/spieler/134425/plus/1?saison=2018.

Endnotes

1. "Raheem Sterling." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raheem_Sterling.

2. "Dad's violent death haunts new England star Raheem Sterling." The Sun, 18 May 2014, https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/822572/dads-violent-death-haunts-new-england-star-raheem-sterling/

3. "Raheem Sterling: the mother's boy from Jamaica who became a man." The Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/02/raheem-sterling-mothers-boy-jamaica-man-england