"He had a hunger and desire to be a player" - Brendan Rodgers names Chelsea star as one of the best players he ever coached

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has named Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling as one of the best players he has coached.

Sterling's meteoric rise started at Anfield, where he was handed his debut by former Reds manager Kenny Dalglish. However, it was Rodgers who enjoyed the most time with the English winger at Merseyside.

The 28-year-old made 126 appearances across competitions under the northern Irish coach. He scored 23 goals and provided 25 assists and was part of the Liverpool side that challenged for the Premier League title in 2014.

Rodgers has lavished praise on the Chelsea forward by branding him as one of the best players he's coached. The new Celtic boss told Tubes and Ange Golf Life YouTube channel (via Liverpool Echo):

"The standouts are the likes of Raheem (Sterling) at 17, (I) put him in the team at Liverpool, (and) he was an exceptional player."

Rodgers continued by stressing how the Blues attacker was eager to become world-class:

"You could see his physicality; he was fast, dynamic, strong, and he had a hunger and desire to be a player.

"As soon as I put him in the team, he was never out of the team. He played in multiple positions for me, argreat young guy who was hungry and genuinely wanted to be world-class. He was fantastic."

Sterling has become a journeyman in the Premier League and is now regarded as one of the greatest wingers in English football. He left Rodgers' side in 2015 to join a Manchester City side that pipped them to the title the year before.

The England international scored 131 goals and provided 95 assists in 339 games across competitions at the Etihad. He won four Premier League, one FA Cup and five League Cups with Pep Guardiola's side.

Sterling left City last summer and joined Chelsea for £47.5 million. However, the speedy winger has struggled amid the Blues' disappointing campaign. He managed just nine goals and four assists in 38 games across competitions, with his side finishing a lowly 12th in the Premier League.

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Chelsea's Kalidou Koulibaly joins Al Hilal

Koulibaly spent just a year with Chelsea.

Chelsea have confirmed that defender Kalidou Koulibaly has completed a move to Saudi giants Al Hilal. The Senegalese defender had arrived at Stamford Bridge from Napoli last summer for £34 million.

However, he suffered a massive drop in form in the Premier League. He was a shadow of his former best that saw him heralded as one of Europe's best defenders in Naples.

Koulibaly, 32, made 32 appearances across competitions, helping his side keep ten clean sheets in the 2022-23 season. He now heads to the Saudi Pro League that's luring high-profile names to the Middle East. He will come up against his former Blues teammate N'Golo Kante who has joined Saudi champions Al Ittihad.