Chelsea and England forward Raheem Sterling has hit back at his critics after a disappointing start to the season, insisting it actually ‘drives’ him.
Following his £47.5m move from Manchester City, Sterling has not scored in the Premier League since August. He has scored just twice in an England shirt since Euro 2020 and not at all in his last five international appearances leading up to the World Cup.
But Sterling is adamant that when people tell him he can’t do things, he wants them more.
“What has made me the person I am today is all the setbacks I’ve felt, all the ‘can’ts’ – you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re not good enough. Things like that always drive me,” the 27-year-old told the Daily Mail.
Harry Simeo hosts Simra Hunter, Andy Hadspeth and Toby Cudworth to look back at South Africa ’10 as part of ‘Our World Cup’ series. We take a trip down memory lane – join us!
Even at just 27 years of age, Sterling is one of the most experienced players in England’s squad as they look to host the World Cup in Qatar.
This is already the fifth major international tournament of his career, having first been to the World Cup in 2014 as a teenager. He is the most capped player in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad, with 79 appearances under his belt, and only Harry Kane has scored more.
Sterling is expected to start when England face Iran on Monday, without a win in their last six matches since beating Ivory Coast in March.