Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling angered the Liverpool fans when he made a £44 million move from Liverpool to Manchester City but, the young winger clarified that he moved for the sole reason of improving his career and not for money.
Sterling has had a mixed season for Manchester City, but he insists that the move to City was a great opportunity to grow his career.
In an interview with Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves, Sterling insisted he was focussed on his career and he compared his mom to the ‘special one’ Jose Mourinho. He also spoke about the reactions he gets on social media.
He said: "The main [comment] on my Instagram is the snake sign - that's the biggest one so far - and someone that loves money, hungry for money.
"Realistically, I am trying to improve as a player and that's the most important thing for me and for my development. I just did what I thought was best for my career at that moment in time."
Mom’s advice is a bit annoying
When asked about his mother’s inputs to his game, Sterling said:
"After games you get messages from friends and family and I can honestly say of all the games I've played this year about 10 to 15 times I've had - from my mum - 'you weren't in the box as much as you should be. You should be closer to the goal so it makes it easier for you.”
"I can't believe her level of thinking. I actually call her Jose Mourinho because she actually thinks she is the Chosen One!
"To be fair to her, at the start when I was 17 she didn't know as much. She knew all the rules and stuff like that - but the things she's telling me are the things I am trying to get better at.
"It's kind of annoying because those are things I'm trying to change and get better at and she's pointing it out to me and I don't like that! It's the fact that it's actually true is the most annoying bit!"
He also spoke about how big his move to Manchester City was personally:
"Obviously getting a move to City was a great opportunity for me and a great stepping stone, but I thought to give myself the best chance to progress and do well was to try to stay out of people's TV's and headlines.
"I tried to be seen to focus on football and make it the right headlines. It's a difficult one because people formed an opinion on me and I can't do anything to change that.
“If I came out again and said something else it would probably make the situation a lot worse. Maybe it could have made it better, who knows?
"I thought to myself at that moment in time it was the right thing to do - get a level playing field and try to keep it a smooth one and go into the season with the right head and focus.
"I think I've not done too bad. I think I've stayed out of the way."
Sterling will be hoping to play a major role in the big game against Manchester United this weekend.
