Raheem Shaquille Sterling is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Manchester City, and for the England national team.
His preferred position is that of a winger, but he has been deployed as an attacking midfielder, a striker and as a false-9 in his career. His net worth as of 2021 is $45 million.
Sterling was born on 8 December, 1994, in Jamaica, to a poor family. His humble beginnings meant his family underwent many difficulties to bring him up and to manage their expenses. His mother made sure that he grew up with the best exposure she could provide him.
He attended Copland Community School, and was a player in the school’s football team. He was a troublemaker and a prankster at school, and was often involved in lots of naughty and mischievous acts as a kid.
Sterling began his professional career at Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He played for the team for seven years, from 2003 to 2010. In this time, he improved his skills as a player and started developing at a good rate. By the end of his time at QPR, he was their star player, and was attracting the attention of other top clubs in England and beyond.
In 20190, Sterling signed a contract with Liverpool FC, and was offered 600,000 Euros as his salary. He was promised by then Liverpool head coach Rafa Benitez that he was needed for Liverpool’s youth team, and that the club would pay him more if he played a good amount of matches there.
He won his first match against ‘Notts County in the FA Youth Cup. After a successful stint there, he was promoted to the first team. Over there, he became a mainstay, and was one of Liverpool’s stars. He soon decided to move, and made the switch to Manchester City. Under coach Pep Guardiola, Sterling became one of the best attackers in the world, due to his pace, dribbling, explosiveness and eye for goal.
Financial ventures
In 2012, Sterling was approached by Nike for a sponsorship deal, which he signed. As such, he began appearing in commercials for the American sportswear and equipment giant.
He was featured in an advertisement for the new Nike Green Speed II, appearing alongside fellow footballers Eden Hazard, Christian Eriksen, Mario Gotze, Theo Walcott and Stephan El Shaarawy. He also endorsed the Nikr Mercurial Vapor IX, and served as the brand ambassador for the limited-edition Nike model.
Sterling has also appeared in commercials of popular brands like Pepsi and Gillette. As recently as May 2021, Sterling announced that he signed a multi-year deal with New Balance. He said he would wear the Furon v6+ boots.